History Series / BurdenOfTruth

* BetaCouple: Owen Beckbie and Diane Evans are the beta couple to Joanna and Billy's alpha couple.

* MissingMom: Joanna's mother was mostly gone during her childhood, supposedly due to being sick. However, later it turns out that was her dad's doing. They grow closer when Joanna learns of this, and she gets estranged from her dad.

* HeteronormativeCrusader: The pastor of the church Molly's mom goes to is strongly anti-gay, and preaches against homosexuality in his sermons. Molly didn't come out to her as a result, afraid that her mom held the same view (but she doesn't, accepting this immediately when she learn's Molly's a lesbian).

* BigotWithABadge: Sam Mercer, Milwood's chief of police in season 2, is cordial towards the white suspects in the investigation of David Hanley's murder, but is noticeably hostile towards Gerrilyn Spence, who is Indigenous Canadian, and even makes subtly racist comments towards her. It is later revealed that he killed an indigenous man years ago and covered it up. The revelation of this information ends up costing him his badge.

* ChildByRape: Luna is one due to statutory rape, as her mother was underage when she had an affair with her (much older) father.

** Kodie was placed in foster care at age 8 when removed from her mother.

* DirtyCop: Sam Mercer, the chief of police in Millwood. He takes bribes and is shown to be racist towards Indigenous Canadians. Owen exposes his corruption leads to him losing his job and going to jail for killing an Indigenous man, but he [[KarmaHoudini gets off with only eighteen months]] on reckless endangerment. [[spoiler:Then it's discovered he was running a blackmail scheme while a cop, and it continues when he's on parole.]]

* FrameUp: Kodie along with many other parents are given drug tests that falsely show them using drugs or alcohol to get their kids taken away. A neighbor was also paid to make up parental neglect that he would anonymously report against Kodie by her younger daughter's grandmother, so she could gain custody.
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Dr. Solomon Stone]] framed numerous people with fake drug tests which showed them as testing positive for drugs or alcohol to get their kids removed, because he was convinced they're unfit parents like his own mother who had fallen asleep while smoking, causing a fire which killed his sister.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Just after David gets {{off on a technicality}} for committing statutory rape with two underage girls (at least) he's murdered (for something else).

* SurprisePregnancy: Joanna unexpectedly gets pregnant by Billy in Season 3, and she struggles whether she's cut out for the responsibility or wants to have a child (mostly due to issues with her childhood). However, after much soul-searching, Joanna decides to have the baby.

* SchoolgirlLesbians: Molly and Luna, two girls in high school, are a couple.

* DepartmentOfChildDisservices: Millwood Family Services is revealed to be very corrupt, removing children without good cause and ensuring they stay separated from their birth parents, through fake tests done by a lab claiming they use drugs or alcohol. It turns out their funding is tied to removing children, which of course means a huge incentive to do this whether or not it's needed.

* TokenTrio: ** Joanna, Diane and Kodie all became friends in school due to bonding over being the only girls of color there. More specifically, Joanna is half Chinese/half Caucasian, Diane is a Guyanese-Canadian and Kodie is Indigenous Canadian.
* TwoferTokenMinority: Luna is half Indigenous/half Caucasian and a lesbian.

* AssholeVictim: The second season revolves around the murder of David Hanley who had gained a lot of enemies in Millwood.

* DirtyCop: Sam Mercer, the chief of police in Millwood. He takes bribes and is shown to be racist towards Indigenous Canadians. Owen exposes his corruption leads to him losing his job and going to jail for killing an Indigenous man, but he [[KarmaHoudini gets off with only eighteen months]] on reckless endangerment. [[spoiler:Then it's found he was running a blackmail scheme while a cop, and it continues when he's on parole.]]

** [[spoiler:Joanna's father]] is murdered in Season 2.

* FalselyReformedVillain: Sam Mercer in season 3. In the first episode, he claims he wants to earn forgiveness for his crimes but he is shown to still harbor racist attitudes towards indigenous people. He is also revealed to be running a blackmailing scheme [[spoiler: which has Diane as one of the targets]].

* SlutShaming: This is a go-to legal strategy for attacking female witnesses' credibility on the show, in one case even just being a ''lingerie model''. Note that even the good guys use this.

* TwoferTokenMinority:
** Joanna, Diane and Kodie all became friends in school due to bonding over being the only girls of color there. More specifically, Joanna is half Chinese/half Caucasian. Diane is a Guyanese-Canadian. Kodie is Indigenous Canadian.
** Luna is half Indigenous/half Caucasian and a lesbian.

* MixedAncestry:
** Joanna is half Caucasian and half Chinese-Canadian.
** Luna is half Indigenous Canadian and half Caucasian.
** Kodie's younger daughter, True, is half Indigenous and half Caucasian too.
** Joanna's daughter with Billy, her Caucasian partner (in both the business and romantic senses) is another example.

** Owen's birth father was also never involved.

* LipstickLesbian: Molly and Luna are both feminine teenage girls in a relationship.

* TokenMinorityCouple: Owen Beckbie and Diane Evans, who are Indigenous Canadian and Guyanese-Canadian respectively, have a relationship.

* VigilanteMan: Taylor becomes determined to take a john down after she sees him beating up sex workers, and follows him despite Luna's warning against the idea. In the end, she manages to expose a blackmail scheme.

* SurprisePregnancy: Joanna unexpectedly gets pregnant by Billy in Season 3, and she struggles whether she's cut out for the responsibility or wants to have a child (mostly due to issues with her childhood).

* SurprisePregnancy: Joanna unexpectedly gets pregnant by Billy in Season 3, and wrestles with the idea of whether she's cut out for the responsibility or wants it.

* VigilanteMan: Taylor becomes determined to take a john down after she sees him beating up sex workers, and follows him despite Luna's warning against the idea.

* DirtyCop: Sam Mercer, the chief of police in Millwood. He takes bribes and is shown to be racist towards Indigenous Canadians. Owen exposes his corruption leads to him losing his job and going to jail for two years for the murder of an Indigenous man.

** Kodie's older daughter, Madison, is half Indigenous and half Caucasian too.