History Main / TruthSerums

* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD:'' [[TheMenInBlack Agents Coulson and Ward]] bring [[TheCracker Skye]] in for interrogation. Coulson tells her about the top-secret truth serum SHIELD has access to -- then injects ''Ward'' with it, and leaves the room, letting Skye grill Ward and satisfy herself that SHIELD is actually on the side of good. (And, in the process, learn embarrassing details about Ward.) In a later episode, Ward tells Skye that there never was a truth serum, and it was all a ruse to get her on board the team. Well, ''someone's'' lying, that's for sure. Given that [[spoiler:Ward later turns out to be a HYDRA agent,]] it probably was fake.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. In "The Promise", Professor Ivo uses sodium pentothal on Oliver Queen. However Sara Lance has worked up a picrotoxin to counteract the effects of the barbiturates in the sodium pentothal and given it to him beforehand. He intentionally gets captured and proceeds to feed Ivo false information.

* ''Series/BlakesSeven''
** In "Pressure Point", this is used to get a rendezvous code out of a RebelLeader. As Servalan has a personal grudge against the rebel, she deliberately gives her a lethal overdose.

* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'':

* ''Series/GetSmart''

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' ("Truth or Consequences"). A terrorist leader injects [=DiNozzo=] with a concoction of his own design consisting of sodium thiopental AndSomeOtherStuff, causing [=DiNozzo=] to give a [[HowWeGotHere recap of the events leading up to his capture]].
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''
** In "Aletheia", a government agent gives Root alternating injections of a stimulant in one arm and a sedative in the other. This is a [[ShownTheirWork real technique]] developed by the CIA MKULTRA project. It failed spectacularly on Root and apparently wasn't so hot for the CIA either (it was supposed to induce a cooperative trance, but as often as not the subject would just fall asleep).
** And in "4C", Shaw spikes Hersh's drink with scopalomine, which has the additional benefit that [[WhatDidIDoLastNight he won't remember what happened]]. Hersh not only reveals the information Shaw wants, but the cold-blooded ImplacableMan also reveals his concern that his former protege whom he tried to murder is being treated well by her new employer. [[PetTheDog D'awwww...]]

* In the ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' episode "Truth", Chloe is exposed to a gas that makes others unable to lie to her. The only person able to resist is Clark, who doesn't answer when asked about his secret.

** Subverted in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' where Quark is injected with 6 doses of sodium thiopental, with no effect. But that's a Ferengi's metabolism for ya. Quark ironically is only too willing to talk, to stop these mad humans from jabbing him with sharp needles.

** The "Chain of Command" two-parter of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' has the Cardassian interrogator of the captured Picard use truth serum while torturing him. Unfortunately for the Cardassians, Picard doesn't have the information they want (because his superiors weren't dumb enough to send him on a dangerous spy mission with current intel on fleet deployments). The torturer himself doesn't really care, he just enjoys his work and breaking people, leading to the TwoPlusTortureEqualsFive ordeal.
** In the ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' episode "That Hope is You", Michael Burnham is subjected to some kind of truth serum by the guards in the holo-trading station. It's not clear if her physiology is different to what they're used to or if, as one of the guards suggests, the other one's been experimenting with the formula, but it initially has no clear effect, then sends her to sleep for a few seconds. When she wakes up, her thought processes are sufficiently scrambled that what she says is ''true'', but doesn't make a whole lot of sense unless you know her story already.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tscomic.png]]

[[quoteright:303:[[Manga/GunslingerGirl https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/truthserum_1503.jpg]]]]

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkle'' has Boris and Natasha give [[TheDitz Bullwinkle]] one of these and ask him to tell them everything he knows. Bullwinkle takes the command literally and begins by talking about his childhood. By the time he gets around to revealing the secret Boris and Natasha are trying to learn, [[NapInducingSpeak they've fallen asleep]].

* ''Series/{{UFO}}'' episode "Computer Affair". The "GL-7 serum", one of the "new anodynes", is used on a captured alien at Straker's orders to lower his resistance so he'll talk. Unfortunately, it kills him instead, due to either his different biology or him somehow [[InvoluntarySuicideMechanism committing suicide to prevent himself from talking]].

* Literature/{{Parker}}: In ''The Sour Lemon Score'', Rosenstein and Brock use a truth serum on Parker to find out what he knows about George Uhl. Parker later uses the same serum (which he discovered when * ''Piège pour un homme seul'': In fact, it was just a provocation.

her searched Brock's apartment) to interrogate Uhl about the location of the money.

** The Government wants to ensure that the children answer the IQ tests truthfully, and not deliberately get a lower score. This is in case any child learns what happens to those whose IQ is higher than what the Government regulation allows: [[spoiler:they are killed.]]* ''Literature/TheExecutioner''

* In the ''Manga/OnePiece'' fanfic ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10909485/1 And Nothing But The Truth,]]'' while the crew is on a small island, Usopp buys a gold ball that has a legend of making people speak the truth while on trial. The legends are true, as when the other Straw Hats hold onto it they are compelled to speak the truth when asked a question. However, after Luffy accidently breaks it, it breaks into dust which gets into the crew mates sans Robin and Usopp. This causes them to not only speak the truth but also blurt out random facts in non-sequiter.

* Combined with a BrownNote in the ''Literature/StarTrekNewFrontier'' novel ''The Quiet Place''. The Redeemer Overlord, along with a killing word, has a truth-telling word, that compels a person to spill his guts. In fact, it makes the victim tell every truth he's ever known, and then kills him. Then it's subverted in the fact that the victim was trying to get them to stop torturing another victim for information ...but they keep going anyway because, even though he did tell the truth, the other victim still could be hiding something.

** Subverted in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' where Quark is inhected with 6 doses of sodium thiopental, with no effect. But that's a Ferengi's metabolism for ya. Quark ironically is only too willing to talk, to stop these mad humans from jabbing him with sharp needles.

** Inverted in "The Groovy Guru" when Max is given 'lie pills' in case he gets captured and interrogated. Naturally Max accidentally swallows his pill too early and HilarityEnsues.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' story ''Flight 714'', Laszlo Carreidas is injected with a truth serum to try and pry the number of his SwissBankAccount from him. He, however, [[MistakenConfession starts confessing to every misdeed he has ever done in his life]]. When BigBad Rastapopoulos is accidentally injected with the same serum, he and Carreidas [[HamToHamCombat get into an argument]] about [[EvilerThanThou who is the evilest]] (While no one bothers to call the winner, [[spoiler:Rastapopoulos wins handily since he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness plans to murder everyone involved]] except ''maybe'' [[TheDragon Allan]]]]).

* In the ''Manga/OnePiece'' fanfic ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10909485/1/ And Nothing But The Truth]]'', while the crew is on a small island, Usopp buys a gold ball that has a legend of making people speak the truth while on trial. The legends are true, as when the other Straw Hats hold onto it they are compelled to speak the truth when asked a question. However, after Luffy accidently breaks it, it breaks into dust which gets into the crew mates sans Robin and Usopp. This causes them to not only speak the truth but also blurt out random facts in non-sequiter.

* A variation features in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2172417/1/False-Smiles False Smiles]]"; when Xander and Faith believe that Faith is pregnant with Xander's baby, when Xander is in hospital after a fight, he lets himself get "high" on pain medication so that Faith will know he's telling her the truth that he wants to be there for her and the baby.

** Subverted in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' where they inject Quark with 6 doses of sodium thiopental, with no effect. But that's a Ferengi's metabolism for ya. Quark ironically is only too willing to talk, to stop these mad humans from jabbing him with sharp needles.

* ''Music/{{Gorillaz}}'s'' music video for [[CruelTwistEnding "Aries" ends with Murdoc preparing]] [[spoiler:to inject 2-D with truth serum while on a peaceful motorcycle ride with him]] (implied to be because he wants answers as to what exactly 2-D and the other band members think of him now after the events of the "Désolé" music video.) [[LaserGuidedKarma However,]] Russel's intervention ensures that Murdoc doesn't learn a thing that he wanted to from the endeavor, and it's likely that doing such an awful thing has only served to make his relationships with everyone else [[SelfFulfillingProphecy worse than they were before.]]

** In another comic, a government agency accidentally dumps experimental truth serum [[http://www.ballerinamafia.net/index.php?pid=20101108 in the water supply]].

* ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'': The villains injects [[spoiler:a captured Halo]] with a truth serum to get inside information on ARCHON, except it [[https://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-910-jabber-blabber/ backfires spectacularly.]] [[spoiler:As it happen, using a truth serum on a MotorMouth {{Cloudcuckoolander}} with ADHD only results in an absolutely non-stop blabbering, stream-of-consciousness run-on sentence devoid of any useful intel (except maybe for the dating status of some members), and it threatens Sidney with passing out from lack of breath.]]

* Dr. Auditore, the prison psychiatrist in ''Webcomic/StringTheory2009'', tries it on Dr. Schtein. It [[http://www.stringtheorycomic.com/comics/chapter-three/page-thirtytwo/ backfires]].

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/RexTheRunt'' Bob and Rex start drinking what they assume is a truth serum (it was actually orange juice) and, presumably due to their [[YourMindMakesItReal minds making it real]] started admitting to old lies they'd told in the past, revealing secrets and plenty of assorted lampshading ("Why do you wear that {{eyepatch|OfPower}} anyway? You have two eyes!"). However, at the end of the episode, Wendy pours the real truth serum down the sink and we cut to a pair of rats in the sewer who start doing the same thing! Also, earlier on, [[CloudCuckoolander Vince]] stumbled upon the real serum and drank some of it. It caused him to see two creepy live-action guys with cameras, presumably the show's animators, and start babbling "The horror...the horror...". Yes, it's a weird show.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' story ''Flight 714'', Laszlo Carreidas is injected with a truth serum to try and pry the number of his SwissBankAccount from him. He, however, [[MistakenConfession starts confessing to every misdeed he has ever done in his life]]. When BigBad Rastapopoulos is accidentally injected with the same serum, he and Carreidas [[HamToHamCombat get into an argument]] about [[EvilerThanThou who is the evilest]].

* ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'' established that Atlantis has well developed and reliable truth compulsion magic, although the surface is still new and dubious about the idea. (Since the protagonist can't use magic, when he wants answers, he normally just resorts to [[MindControl orange light branding]].)

* In ''Franchise/{{DocSavage}}'' Doc has occasionally used truth serum, but usually as a last resort because he's well aware of its' limitations. It does not magically make someone tell the truth, it just makes them so groggy and confused that they can't concentrate enough to think up a lie, but it's still hard to get useful information from anyone. He also has to watch the dose very carefully, as the amount needed to make it nearly impossible for them to think up a lie is uncomfortably close to the dose that will either render them unconscious or kill them outright.

* In ''Film/KillBill Vol. 2'', Bill uses a truth serum, suggested to be of his own creation, called: "The Undisputed Truth", on "The Bride"

* In ''Film/KillBill Vol. 2'', Bill uses this, his "greatest invention", on The Bride.

* The French comic ''Captain Biceps'' parodied this with Wonderbra Woman's lasso forcing people to tell the truth. Unfortunately, said truths are more along the lines of "You've gained weight recently, haven't you".

* In ''Series/StrangerThings 3'', Steve and Robin are captured by Soviets that have infiltrated the Starcourt Mall and beaten for information as to who sent them there. They repeatedly (and truthfully) insist that no-one sent them, that they just work for the mall itself. The Soviets, assuming Steve and Robin are lying to them, shoot them up with a severely disorienting drug in hopes that they won't have the presence of mind to keep their cover stories straight. The General isn't happy when Steve continues to insist they just work at the mall, though Steve eventually spills that they found their lab due to intercepting their cover frequency by sheer luck and that Dustin and Erica escaped and likely told the authorities about the Soviets. Said drug winds up making Steve and Robin puke their guts out after being severely high for hours.

* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', the Sturmovarus family slips a truth serum into Agatha's soup. She had previously been hiding the fact that she was a Spark or a Heterodyne; the truth serum causes her to lose all inhibition and blurt out her entire backstory in one continuous spiel over three pages, then compliment her dessert, then fall face forward into said dessert before declaring "You're very cute!" to Tarvek as he cleans her up and his father wryly admits that perhaps a bit too much serum had been put in her food.

* The closest things to a real truth serum we have... are [[InVinoVeritas alcohol]] and marijuana. [[GovernmentConspiracy Project MKULTRA]] found this out the hard way when they discovered that while the more "interesting" mind-bending substances they tried out on unsuspecting subjects were more likely to make such subjects want more substance rather than brainwash them, the FBI had actually gotten actionable intelligence on a bank heist by lacing a captured Mafioso's cigarettes with THC. Just as they were to be declassified, the said "interesting" mind-bending substances were discreetly experimented with by a handful of individuals and spread through colleges, and... [[NewAgeRetroHippie you know]]... it led to telling ''another'' [[HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs kind of truth]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' episode "Grumpy Young Men", one of Jimmy's inventions turns him, Carl, and Sheen into old men. When they're about to age into dust, Jimmy convinces them to go back through the device with offers of prune whip on the other side, and when they return to normal, Carl is eating a bowl of what he thinks is prune whip but is actually Jimmy's experimental truth serum. He begins confessing secrets such as having stolen Jimmy's toast the other day and his mother being 47.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' ("Truth or Consequences"). A terrorist leader injects [=DiNozzo=] with a concoction of his own design consisting of sodium thiopental AndSomeOtherStuff, causing [=DiNozzo=] to give an AsYouKnow recap of the events leading up to his capture.x

* In ''Literature/TheBeyonders'' trilogy a rare jungle cobra has venom that not only makes the victim say out loud everything that comes to mind, it makes them remember everything in perfect detail, [[spoiler:even the Key Word after they've spoken it. After Jason is captured by Maldor his interrogators slip the cobra into his cell. In the second book Galloran uses small doses to restore some of the
memories he lost during Maldor's torture sessions.]]

* ''VideoGame/HiddenCity'' has a potion called Drops of Truth, which can make people reveal secrets. It works by applying the potion on an item related to the secret the user wishes to know about and demand the suspect to reveal what they know. In “”, Rayden uses this potion to interrogate Marquise von Hart on the whereabouts of the key she stole from Mr. Black, but he ends up using the remainder of the potion to question Black about the dubious secrets he’s keeping.

* Averted and played for comedy at the same time in ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' after Kenshin first meets Misao. She's been hounding him for information as to Aoshi's whereabouts, but he's been cagey about it (because he knows Aoshi's Oniwabanshu members are dead), and after they've bonded a little, Misao offers Kenshin a biscuit after having previously refused to share any food with him. Kenshin accepts the biscuit...but then immediately suspects that Misao might've laced it with truth serum. Misao snaps, "Don't eat it, then!"
* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', Speedwagon wakes up as a prisoner of the Nazis, who want to learn more about the archaeological find that the Speedwagon Foundation uncovered. The commander, von Stroheim, mentions a few details about Speedwagon's life story, not only providing a little exposition about Speedwagon's life after ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood'', but causing him to realize that the Nazis had injected him with truth serum and forced him to reveal information he does ''not'' want them to know.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** Perhaps the most famous example is Wonder Woman's magic lasso, which forces others to tell her exactly what she wants to know. Originally it was portrayed without such powers, with the assumption [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique an Amazon with her foot on your neck was a compelling enough tactic]]. The lasso was originally stated to have the power of forcing anyone bound in it to [[MindControl obey Wonder Woman's orders]]. This was written out, partly because [[StoryBreakerPower it made things too easy for her]]. The lasso is supposed to make you tell the truth; whether or not it forces you to speak at all is unclear.
** One of Doctor Poison's many concoctions is a truth serum. She tries to administer it to ComicBook/SteveTrevor while interrogating him in ''ComicBook/SensationComics'' but Di switches out the syringe for one with a saline solution.
** In ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'' [[ComicBook/WonderWomanNumberOne #1]] A truth serum hidden in a cigarette causes Pt. Mint Candy to give up classified information to a Mexican man collaborating with Imperial Japan.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}''
** Played with in ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' when Comicbook/LexLuthor kidnaps a [[BroughtDownToNormal depowered]] Clark Kent and gives him an experimental truth serum which his scientists explain is a synthetic recreation of Wonder Woman's magic lasso (See above). He then asks Clark, who broke the story about new hero Supernova, why it is that Superman [[ItsAllAboutMe is toying with Luthor by pretending to be someone else]]. Clark, {{laughing mad}}ly, informs Lex that he does not know who is under the Supernova mask, but he is absolutely certain of one thing, [[ClarkKenting that it is not Superman]]. Creator commentary in the trade-paperbacks points out that this scene, and perhaps the entire future path of DC comics, could have gone so differently if Luthor had simply known to ask ''the right question''.
** Before that, soon after his wedding with Lois (when he was also [[BroughtDownToNormal depowered]]), [[DistressedDude he was kidnapped]] by a gangster, beaten up and drugged with a truth serum. He ''told them'' he was Superman, but the gangster ''refused to believe'' and thought the serum wasn't working. Somewhat justified, as Clark, depowered, had several hematomas and was bleeding, something Superman isn't supposed to do.
* In a ''[[ComicBook/TheBeezer The Numskulls]]'' strip, Brainy accidentally switched Edd's truth control from 'true' to 'false'. When the other numskulls find out, he resets it to 'as truthful as can be.' Ed immediately insults an enormous violent thug.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' story ''Flight 714'', Laszlo Carreidas is injected with a truth serum to try and pry the number of his SwissBankAccount from him. He, however, [[MistakenConfession starts confessing to every misdeed he has ever done in his life]]. When BigBad Rastapopoulos is accidentally injected with the same serum, he and Carreidas [[HamToHamCombat get into an argument]] about [[EvilerThanThou who is the evilest]].

* 1980's British ''Starblazer''. [=P30M-90=] is an extremely potent truth drug. Pentathax is used for the same purpose.
* The French comic ''Captain Biceps'' parodied this with Wonderbra Woman's lasso forcing people to tell the truth. Unfortunately, said truths are more along the lines of "You've gained weight recently, haven't you".

* In ''ComicBook/{{Marvel 1602}}: [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Fantastick Four]]'', Sir Richard Reed used sodium thiopental (in gaseous form, which the victim inhales), which he's discovered over 300 years early because he's Richard Reed.
* Most [[Franchise/XMen mutants]] with PsychicPowers can mentally compel others to only speak the truth. During the ''X-Men: Schism'' event, Quentin Quire barged into a gathering of U.N representatives and telepathically gave them the urge to reveal their darkest secrets. These secrets ranged from despicable ("I beat my children because I enjoy it" and "I once shot a man just to watch him die!") to amusing ("I married a Doombot!" and "I actually '''love''' America!").
* A common interrogation tactic in ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' is to use truth serum. [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique It's not the only way though]], since some citizens can have violent allergic reactions to it.

* ''Truth is a scourge'' from Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse lives up to its name. Not only does it force its victims to tell the truth and to keep talking, something in its makeup seems to compel its victims to tell those truths which will most hurt, enrage, or otherwise unsettle the audience. There's a reason Pokey called the stuff "truth poison".

* A variation features in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2172417/1/False-Smiles False Smiles]]"; when Xander and Faith believe that Faith is pregnant with Xander's baby, when Xander is in hospital after a fight, he lets himself get "high" on pain medication so that Faith will know he's telling her the truth that he wants to be there for her and the baby.
* In the ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' story "The Other Smurfette", Attorney Smurf's piercing unshielded gaze into Wonderette's eyes act as this, causing her to reveal her true identity [[spoiler:as Hogatha the evil witch]] to the Smurfs at the court trial between her and Empath Smurf.

* In the ''Manga/OnePiece'' fanfic ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10909485/1/ And Nothing But The Truth]]'', while the crew is on a small island, Usopp buys a gold ball that has a legend of making people speak the truth while on trial. The legends are true, as when the other Straw Hats hold onto it they are compelled to speak the truth when asked a question. However, after Luffy accidently breaks it, it breaks into dust which gets into the crew mates sans Robin and Usopp. This causes them to not only speak the truth but also blurt out random facts in non-sequiter.

* In ''Literature/VioletEyes'' and the sequel ''Literature/SilverEyes'', they have what's called [=TrueFalse=], administered through a patch on your skin. While it doesn't force you to tell the truth, it does force you to talk, and will make you sweat if you tell a lie. While it can be used in court, a person can refuse to have it used on them.

* ''Literature/TheForestOfDoom'' have an artifact called the Eye of Amber, a medallion which glows red in the presence of lies.

* {{Parodied|Trope}} in ''[[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Life, the Universe, and Everything]]'' with a character named Prak, who was injected with too strong a dose of truth serum when asked to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in court. People had to flee his [[MadOracle illuminated ramblings]] or [[GoMadFromTheRevelation go insane]]. He forgot most of it (except for the bits about frogs) but was able to tell Arthur Dent where to find God's Final Message to His Creation [[AlmostDeadGuy before dying]].
* Spider Robinson wrote a short story, "Satan's Children", about the social effects (highly disruptive but mostly good in the long run) of a drug that made people tell the truth while under the influence -- and [[WillNotTellALie continue to do so afterward]] as they realized that [[GoodFeelsGood total honesty was less of a psychic burden than maintaining false facades]]. It wreaked particular havoc among political and religious leaders (although it didn't break ''all'' of them).
* Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's Literature/VorkosiganSaga has a truth drug called fast-penta, which when it works properly fulfills this trope perfectly. Inducing honesty is not actually its primary effect, though: what it does is make the subject ''want to be helpful'', allowing the interrogator to suggest that it would be helpful if they would answer a few questions. The distinction is illustrated in ''Ethan of Athos'', in a sequence where fast-penta is used to interrogate a character who is actually entirely ignorant of the subject at issue; instead of explaining that he can't understand the questions, let alone answer them, he attempts to help out by tacitly translating them into questions he ''can'' answer and answering those instead, to the confusion of his captors.
** However, as fast-penta is a drug, not everyone reacts the same way. Most exceptions are fatal allergies. People whose work involves sensitive or classified information can have the allergy artificially induced unless their lives are deemed more important than the secrets they know. Bujold often uses artificial allergies to keep the characters from learning too much too soon. Another exception to the norm is Miles Vorkosigan. Due to his screwed up body chemistry, fast-penta induces a temporary mania in addition to the typical long-windedness. He uses this to his advantage, forcing himself to be discursive and bouncing off the walls reciting ''[[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Richard III]]'' until his interrogators give up and put him back in his cell (And he still doesn't shut up until he finishes reciting the entire play, to his cellmate's discomfort).
** Fast-penta also removes its subject's inhibitions, making them voice whatever is on their mind. So when Ekaterin is under fast-penta, she talks about her sexual curiosity about Miles, to his embarrassment.
* Creator/BruceCoville's ''Literature/TheSkullOfTruth'' has the main character come into possession of a talking skull that forces him to speak only the truth. He finds out, though, that there are different levels of truth (apparently jesters and poets are better at [[SarcasticConfession telling the truth more obtusely]] than others), and ultimately comes face-to-face with Truth him/her/itself, who describes itself as both destroyer and healer. At the end, the protagonist is gifted with the ability to compel people to tell the truth, whether they want to or not.
* The protagonist of one of Creator/LeoGursky's detective comedy series is a [[TheChewToy Chew Toy]] AbsentMindedProfessor pharmacologist. One of the substances he tested was claimed to be a "Super Truth Serum" and explicitly said to be pentothal derivative, and he has one capsule in his pocket he forgets about. Naturally, when the mafia captures him, the {{Mook|s}} ordered to search him is a drug addict, finds the capsule, and soon HilarityEnsues. Still more believable than usual: apart from the nonstop talking, the {{Mook|s}} giggled, drooled and looked like the heavily drugged idiot he was, so even after he collapsed the boss didn't get what was going on until the protagonist explained it.
* ''Literature/{{Worldwar}}'':
** During ''Worldwar: In the Balance'' the aliens try their truth drug on one of the protagonists, but all it does is make him rather giggly. With some difficulty, he manages to keep his cover story straight. The aliens don't know this, so they believe his story that he's an innocent civilian and let him go.
** This may be an illustration of what happens when you try to use truth drugs in real life -- they work by lowering inhibitions (which sometimes helps), not by creating some kind of magical compulsive honesty.
** The fact that it was originally designed for use on aliens with reptilian/dinosaurian physiology (the Race, Rabotev, and Hallesi) instead of mammalian probably didn't help. The Race has had over 50,000 Earth years to work on it so it may work perfectly on themselves and subject species. The alien Fleetlord and Senior Shiplord are later seen discussing that the drug has not been working as well as it should be.

* ''Literature/TheExecutioner''
** Phoenix Force uses scopalomine, administered by its [[TheMedic team medic]] Calvin James due to the risk of possible heart failure. In one novel the prisoner has a heart condition, so they try hypnosis instead, getting enough details to work out the information they're looking for. In another, some mooks who were injured in the fight that led to their capture start babbling their cover stories after they're injected with an anesthesia. This causes Phoenix Force to realise they're professional intelligence agents who have been given hypnotically-induced cover stories in case they were injected with a truth serum.
** When Able Team are in Mexico, the indigenous guerillas they're working with capture Colonel Gunther, TheDragon of neo-Nazi warlord Unomondo, and force him to swallow their own secret truth drug. Rather than being able to answer questions, the drug makes him rant and rave for days in several languages, and Able Team has to record all this to transmit back to Stony Man headquarters to be translated and analyzed in the hope of getting something useful.
* No one can tell lies in close proximity to the griffins in Creator/TamoraPierce's ''[[Literature/TortallUniverse Tortall]]'' books. Their feathers have associated properties like dispelling magical illusions. However, truth ''spells'' can be fooled fairly easily, even when you don't have magic.
* Pierce's ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' books also have truth spells; most mages that can use them specialize in vision and related matters. ("See" the truth, you know.) Tris's teacher Niko is a highly respected one, which comes in handy when Tris's student is being held for "questioning" in Tharios.
* Combined with a BrownNote in the ''Literature/StarTrekNewFrontier'' novel ''The Quiet Place''. The Redeemer Overlord, along with a killing word, has a truth-telling word, that compels a person to spill his guts. In fact, it makes the victim tell every truth he's ever known, and then kills him. Then it's subverted in the fact that the victim was trying to get them to stop torturing another victim for information ...but they keep going anyway because, even though he did tell the truth, the other victim still could be hiding something.

* In Henry Seslar's short story "Examination Day", when a child reaches the age of 12, they are made to take a Government Intelligence Test. To prevent ''cheating'' the child being tested is told to drink a Truth Drug in a form of a buttermilk-like liquid which tastes faintly like peppermint.
** The Government wants to ensure that the children answer the IQ tests truthfully, and not deliberately get a lower score. This is in case any child learns what happens to those whose IQ is higher than what the Government regulation allows: [[spoiler:they are killed.]]
* Played fairly straight in the first book of the ''Blood of Kerensky'' trilogy set in the ''[[Franchise/BattletechExpandedUniverse BattleTech]]'' universe during Phelan's interrogation by the Clans. The procedure (complete with IV drip for the truth drugs and sensors to monitor the subject's vital signs) was still involved enough to suggest that even ([[ZeeRust presumably]]) 31st-century medical science might be able to make this kind of thing ''effective'', but not exactly ''safe''.
* In ''Literature/BoredOfTheRings,'' a parody of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings,'' Goodgulf the Wizard used "one of his secret potions"[[note]]Probably Sodium Pentothal.[[/note]] to get Dildo Bugger to reveal the truth about how he obtained the Ring.

* ''Literature/ForestKingdom'': Truthspells, as they're called, are a magical version. In the ''Hawk & Fisher'' spinoff series' book 1, the sorcerer Gaunt casts one so Hawk and Fisher can question the murder suspects in his house. The spell doesn't prevent them from withholding information or answering in a deceptive way, though, so all of them get away with saying "no" when asked if they committed the murders. [[spoiler:Turns out there are two murderers, each of whom committed a different murder; when Hawk asks each of them if they killed Blackstone ''and'' Bowman, both murderers were able to truthfully answer no.]]
* Subverted in Creator/ThomasPynchon's ''Literature/GravitysRainbow''. Slothrop is administered sodium amytal twice in the course of the narrative. In both cases, he is reduced to surreal babblings and squicky nightmares instead of volunteering information.
* Creator/EEDocSmith offers us nitrobarb in the ''Family D'Alembert'' series. Nitrobarb eliminates the subject's ability to lie or withhold information, but it's difficult to use because the questioning has to be specific and directed. The other big problem is that it ''carries a 50% fatality rate''. That's right -- half the people who get given it die as a result. Lampshaded in-universe by one of the heroes, who makes it clear that generally speaking they ''all'' die, because the information extracted invariably leads to a successful conviction for treason, with the death penalty to follow. When the bad guys use it, the subjects all die because once they've milked you of what you know, you're too dangerous to leave alive.\\
\\
On another occasion, the heroes capture TheDragon and inject them with a conveniently-left-lying-around dose. The information they obtain turns out to be false, but their boss is quick to point out that the dose was ''too'' conveniently left lying around, and for all they knew they were injecting them with distilled water. Later, it's discovered that TheDragon is [[spoiler:a humaniform android]], and it could have been the real thing.
* In ''Franchise/{{DocSavage}}'' Doc has occasionally used truth serum, but usually as a last resort because he's well aware of its' limitations. It does not magically make someone tell the truth, it just makes them so groggy and confused that they can't concentrate enough to think up a lie, but it's still hard to get useful information from anyone. He also has to watch the dose very carefully, as the amount needed to make it nearly impossible for them to think up a lie is uncomfortably close to the dose that will either render them unconscious or kill them outright.
* Frank Herbert's ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' universe has Verite, a will-destroying narcotic from the planet Ecaz that renders a person incapable of falsehood.
* Creator/RobertAHeinlein used this trope several times.
** "Literature/MethuselahsChildren". The government uses a truth drug on members of the Howard Families to try to find out the secret of the Families' longevity. It works, but the investigators don't believe what the members tell them and assume they just know the truth.
** ''Literature/{{Friday}}''. When Friday is captured by Boss' enemies, they use a truth drug on her to make her tell them about Boss' operations. The problem is that she couldn't tell her interrogators what she didn't know, as Boss keeps his employees on a "need to know" basis since anyone can be broken with sufficient torture. Unfortunately for Friday, [[spoiler:the captors don't believe that she's telling the truth even after the serum, so they tortured her for information she couldn't give because didn't have it.]]
** In ''Literature/BetweenPlanets'', [[StateSec I.B.I.]] Agent Stanley Bankfield likes truth serums. As he explains to Don Harvey physical coercion can lead to the subject saying and confessing to anything if applied too zealously. The unnamed agent back on Earth who questioned Harvey in New Chicago disagreed, feeling proper [[ColdBloodedTorture application]] of [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique pain]] would make him quite talkative while serums force him to wade through all sorts of irrelevant babble.
* In the first ''Literature/{{Quiller}}'' spy novel, the title character is injected with a drug designed to make him high and therefore talkative; they get some facts out of the subsequent WordSalad, but not enough. Quiller does reveal too much about his obsession for a girl he's met, however, so they decide to use that angle to force his co-operation.
* ''Literature/TheRifter'': Fathi, a drug used repeatedly in this novel, fits almost all the aspects of this trope. It makes a person feel relaxed and happy and willing to answer anything, and they also find themselves telling the truth even when they don’t intend to. Sometimes it doesn’t get the desired result because of a [[ExactWords too literal answer]], such as when John is asked where Ravishan is and says he doesn’t know (well, he doesn’t know ''exactly'' where, does he?) but more often it works all too well. This is how John lets it slip out that Lady Bousim has been practicing magic and gets her burned as a witch, cementing her son Fikiri’s hatred for John.
* In the ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'' series, the serum associated with the Candor faction is, of course, truth serum, used for trials, interrogations, and Candor initiation.
* In ''Literature/TheBeyonders'' trilogy a rare jungle cobra has venom that not only makes the victim say out loud everything that comes to mind, it makes them remember everything in perfect detail, [[spoiler:even the Key Word after they've spoken it. After Jason is captured by Maldor his interrogators slip the cobra into his cell. In the second book Galloran uses small doses to restore some of the memories he lost during Maldor's torture sessions.]]
* ''Literature/SchooledInMagic'': Spells which force people to tell the truth exist, and they're used in court cases, ensuring that innocents are not convicted.
* In ''[[Literature/{{Parker}} The Sour Lemon Score]]'', Rosenstein and Brock use a truth serum on Parker to find out what he knows about George Uhl. Parker later uses the same serum (which he discovered when her searched Brock's apartment) to interrogate Uhl about the location of the money.
* The ''Literature/{{Sandokan}}'' novels have the youma drink, also called "the lemonade that loosens the tongue": a drink made of lemon juice, opium and sap from a youma plant (an unspecified member of the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sansevieria sansevieria]]'' genus), it gets the drinker too high to care he shouldn't answer the questions he's being asked, even insulting the questioner if the revelations are about a plan to harm them. First shows up in ''The Mystery of the Black Jungle'', when Bharata prepares it and Macpherson tricks Tremal Naik in drinking it, with many others (including the Thuggee and James Brooke) knowing how to prepare it.
* ''Literature/TheElminsterSeries'': The wizard who accosts Elminster outside his village in the hills herding sheep places him under a {{mind control}} spell, and uses it to make him answer questions truthfully. Thankfully he doesn't realize that Elminster is the son of the man he's looking for (a [[KingIncognito hidden prince]] who's being targeted over his claim to the throne) or he'd have been killed as well. As it is, he still orders Elminster to [[PsychicAssistedSuicide run off a cliff]]. Fortunately, Elminister has a latent magical ability he uses to save himself. Later he uses it himself on another mage to compel the truth from him.
* ''Piège pour un homme seul'': In fact, it was just a provocation.
* ''Literature/GravityFallsJournal3'': Ford wonders if the Truth Telling Teeth have a truth serum inside.
* ''Literature/MairelonTheMagician'': The Saltash Set can be used a focus to cast a spell which compels someone to tell the truth. It's mentioned that this is incredibly powerful and complex magic, and nobody is entirely sure how Saltash enchanted it. At the start of the series, Mairleon uses part of the set to cast a lesser version of the spell which merely reveals whether or not Kim is lying.
* ''Literature/{{Stardust}}'': Madame Semele tricks the Witch Queen into eating food laced with an herb called Limbus Grass, which makes the Witch Queen talk about her quest to acquire the Star. A similar sequence happens in [[Film/{{Stardust}} the film version]] between their film counterparts Ditchwater Sal and Lamia.
* In the Literature/LeftBehind book ''Armageddon'', Chloe Williams, a key member of the Tribulation Force, is captured by the Global Community, sedated, and brought to the Statesville, Illinois correctional facility in order to be given an interrogation through a truth serum injection. Thankfully, with God's help, Chloe never gives away anything concerning the whereabouts of her Tribulation Force members, though she still tells her captors the truth in that they're going to have to face God and give an account of their lives at the judgment seat.
* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'': This is the purpose of the Confessor's touch. It causes the person touched to feel love toward the Confessor so overwhelmingly that they will tell them anything which they did, or do anything else asked. Thus, it's used to ensure a person accused of capital crimes is really guilty, gaining true confessions.
* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', being magically enslaved can have this effect if the master so wishes. When [[spoiler:Rose]] is unwillingly bound by [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse Conquest]] (who unfortunately avoids asking her specific questions that would leave her some ExactWords wriggle-room), he commands her to "tell me everything you don't want me to know", forcing her to explain exactly how she and her allies were planning to outsmart him.
* ''Literature/{{Semiosis}}'': [[PlantAliens Stevland]] helps a murder investigation by growing fruit that disinhibit the eater, encouraging them to speak truthfully about whatever's on their mind. Tatiana can resist the urge somewhat because she knows about it, whereas the others are unaware that they're being drugged.
* Subverted in ''Literature/ArtemisFowl:'' Artemis claims that he gave Holly a dose of sodium pentothal as a truth serum, and that all of his knowledge of fairy society comes from what she told him while under its effect, but the reality is that he wouldn't dream of administering such a drug to her out of fear of giving her brain damage. His lie covers up the real source of his knowledge, while also being intended to make Holly think she betrayed her own people so she succumbs to despair while she's his hostage.
* ''Literature/{{Quarters}}'': A major plot point of ''Sing the Four Quarters'' is that nobody can lie to a bard under interrogation: they have the ability to magically compel the speaker to tell the truth regardless of their preference. [[spoiler:Except nobody really quite believes it when Pjerin, Duc Ohrid, is revealed by this compulsion as a traitor, because it just plain seems out-of-character. Turns out part of the FrameUp involved planting what amounts to a post-hypnotic suggestion that forced Pjerin to respond in a self-incriminating manner to the Bard Captain's legally prescribed question.]]

* Long before ''Film/LiarLiar'', ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' had an episode ("The Whole Truth") in which a used car salesman buys a car its previous owner claims is haunted and finds himself supernaturally being forced to tell the truth, which is especially inconvenient in his line of work. Eventually, a local politician (who for obvious reasons doesn't want the car for himself either) helps him fob the car off as an all-American souvenir to a foreign politician who happens to be in town for a visit: [[spoiler:Nikita Khrushchev]].
* In ''[[Series/{{V 1983}} V: The Final Battle]]'', the hero Mike Donovan is injected with an alien truth serum and fulfills this trope completely. This is an ''alien'' formula, so... Though the initial injection apparently wasn't strong enough.
-->'''Diana:''' What color is your hair?\\
'''Donovan:''' [[BlatantLies Blue.]] ''[Diana injects him again]''
* ''Series/GetSmart''
** Maxwell Smart is drugged and ordered to tell his interrogators "everything you know". Naturally, this results in a seemingly endless stream of trivia, including multiplication tables.
** In another episode, Max is tasked with drugging a suspected enemy spy with a truth pill, while she gives him a sleeping drug. A PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo later, he first tells everything to the ''sleeping'' spy, and later yet is talking to his boss...

* ''Series/TheMiddleMan'': The Middleman sets off a truth bomb to get Pip to confess he copied Wendy's paintings. Everyone else in the vicinity starts spontaneously confessing embarrassing truths. Wendy tries to take advantage of the truth bomb to [[NoNameGiven find out the Middleman's name]], but he manages to dodge the question by giving her an honest answer that says nothing.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek''
** Subverted in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' where they inject Quark with 6 doses of sodium thiopental, with no effect. But that's a Ferengi's metabolism for ya. Quark ironically is only too willing to talk, to stop these mad humans from jabbing him with sharp needles.
** In ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'', Vulcans are apparently resistant or disciplined enough to defeat such measures. When a villain is interrogating T'Pol about the possibilities of time travel, she is able to respond using what is technically true: "The Vulcan science directorate has determined that time travel is impossible."
** ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'' also revealed that the Andorrians have an interrogation device specifically designed for Vulcans which removes their emotional control, thereby making them a lot less capable of deceitfully telling technical truths the way T'Pol does. The one time we see it in action, however, Shran is using it on Soval to [[InvertedTrope confirm that he really is telling them the truth]] about a planned Vulcan invasion. When Shran still WontTakeYesForAnAnswer even after Soval has suffered a total emotional breakdown, Soval angrily berates him for being stupid and insists that he crank his device up further until he's convinced.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' also revealed in some episodes that while the Vulcan mind-meld can be used to extract information from unwilling subjects, some of the Cardassians (Gul Dukat, for one) had a conditioning technique to block the Vulcans from using it on them. Also, one alien government had developed a means to alter and block its agents' memories while they were working undercover so that they would actually ''believe'' they were who they were making themselves out to be if anyone tried using any of these methods on them, meaning their interrogators would get nothing useful out of them even though they were being completely honest.
** The "Chain of Command" two-parter of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' has the Cardassian interrogator of the captured Picard use truth serum while torturing him. Unfortunately for the Cardassians, Picard doesn't have the information they want (because his superiors weren't dumb enough to send him on a dangerous spy mission with current intel on fleet deployments). The torturer himself doesn't really care, he just enjoys his work and breaking people, leading to the TwoPlusTortureEqualsFive ordeal.
** In the ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' episode "That Hope is You", Michael Burnham is subjected to some kind of truth serum by the guards in the holo-trading station. It's not clear if her physiology is different to what they're used to or if, as one of the guards suggests, the other one's been experimenting with the formula, but it initially has no clear effect, then sends her to sleep for a few seconds. When she wakes up, her thought processes are sufficiently scrambled that what she says is ''true'', but doesn't make a whole lot of sense unless you know her story already.
* ''Series/{{UFO}}'' episode "Computer Affair". The "GL-7 serum", one of the "new anodynes", is used on a captured alien at Straker's orders to lower his resistance so he'll talk. Unfortunately, it kills him instead, due to either his different biology or him somehow [[InvoluntarySuicideMechanism committing suicide to prevent himself from talking]].
* Humorously used on ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' after Kelly gets bitten by a swarm of poisonous Samoan beetles during a commercial she's filming for an extermination company. Bud discovers that the Samoan people use the bugs' venom to create a truth serum, and Kelly ends up repeatedly telling the truth at the worst possible times.
* Played straight on ''Series/{{Lost}}'' when Sayid is restrained and given an unnamed drug by [[spoiler:members of the Dharma Initiative, who believe him to be a hostile spy]], and informed that he will have no choice but to answer their questions truthfully. When he does so, [[spoiler:eventually revealing that he is from the future,]] the interrogator concludes that he used too high a dose.
* ''Series/TwentyFour'' has occasionally used "hyoscine pentothal" in the past (a fictional substance whose name is taken from the names of two real substances).

* In the ''Series/MIHigh'' episode "Spy Animals", a truth serum causes the teachers to start blurting out what they really think about the students and other members of staff, and causes Daisy to tell her friends that she is really a spy. They think this is a story to cover up the fact that she is going out with Blane. Blane attempts to get Daisy to say what she really thinks about him while she is still under the influence, but Lenny gives her the antidote before she can reply.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' ("Truth or Consequences"). A terrorist leader injects [=DiNozzo=] with a concoction of his own design consisting of sodium thiopental AndSomeOtherStuff, causing [=DiNozzo=] to give an AsYouKnow recap of the events leading up to his capture.
* In one episode of ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero'', Maxwell is given a truth serum by the GeneralRipper villain of the story. The resultant babblings about [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Ralph's supersuit]] are dismissed as crazy talk.
* In the ''Series/QuantumLeap'' episode "Star Light, Star Bright", Sam leaps into an old man obsessed with [=UFOs=] who is dosed with sodium thiopental by government [[TheMenInBlack Men in Black]]. Instead of telling them what his host knows about [=UFOs=], he starts revealing top-secret information about himself and the Quantum Leap project. TheMenInBlack just assume it's gibberish and that they've given him too high a dosage.
* In ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' episode "The Foxes and Hounds Affair'', Napoleon and Illya are injected with truth serum to make them reveal the location of a device wanted by THRUSH. Napoleon, who is out of the loop this episode and legitimately doesn't know, just starts acting drunk; but Illya is compelled to give up the information after minimal resistance.

* ''Series/RedDwarf'': Lister injected the prison warden with sodium thiopental, which apparently caused him to come to a meeting late explaining that he had been shagging the science officer's wife and he hadn't had time to change out of his Batman costume.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' has an episode in which anyone who asks for the truth gets it, in full, from everyone who talks to them. In this case, it's not due to a truth serum but a truth curse.
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD:'' [[TheMenInBlack Agents Coulson and Ward]] bring [[TheCracker Skye]] in for interrogation. Coulson tells her about the top-secret truth serum SHIELD has access to -- then injects ''Ward'' with it, and leaves the room, letting Skye grill Ward and satisfy herself that SHIELD is actually on the side of good. (And, in the process, learn embarrassing details about Ward.) In a later episode, Ward tells Skye that there never was a truth serum, and it was all a ruse to get her on board the team. Well, ''someone's'' lying, that's for sure. Given that [[spoiler:Ward later turns out to be a HYDRA agent,]] it probably was fake.
* An episode of ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'' has Claire accidentally injected with an experimental truth serum which causes constant babbling, paranoia, and loss of inhibitions. It's played for drama when she struggles to resist revealing secrets about the Quicksilver program and laughs when she starts trying to violate Darien.

* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''
** In "Aletheia", a government agent gives Root alternating injections of a stimulant in one arm and a sedative in the other. This is a [[ShownTheirWork real technique]] developed by the CIA MKULTRA project. It failed spectacularly on Root and apparently wasn't so hot for the CIA either (it was supposed to induce a cooperative trance, but as often as not the subject would just fall asleep).
** And in "4C", Shaw spikes Hersh's drink with scopalomine, which has the additional benefit that [[WhatDidIDoLastNight he won't remember what happened]]. Hersh not only reveals the information Shaw wants, but the cold-blooded ImplacableMan also reveals his concern that his former protege whom he tried to murder is being treated well by her new employer. [[PetTheDog D'awwww...]]
* In the ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' episode "Truth", Chloe is exposed to a gas that makes others unable to lie to her. The only person able to resist is Clark, who doesn't answer when asked about his secret.
* ''Series/TropicalHeat'': Nick is injected with one in the episode “Double Switch” and questioned.

* In an episode of ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'', the heroes were searching for the Sword of Veracity, which made whoever held it incapable of lying. Iolaus and the GirlOfTheWeek found themselves in a cave full of swords, so Iolaus grabbed the first sword he could and said she was the ugliest girl he'd ever seen, explaining that the Sword should not allow him to lie. The duo then proceeded to do the same with each sword in turn ("My name is Hercules and I have two heads." "This is a rutabaga.") until she found the right one through a CassandraTruth moment, warning Iolaus of the monster behind him.
* Cole is given truth serum in the ''{{Series/Tracker}}'' episode 'Dark Road Home'. He snuck into a mental hospital to find a dangerous fugitive who was hiding out there in the body of a psychologically troubled human. The nurses give Cole the serum to see if he'll tell something, but it backfires. He starts talking about the alien stuff and just seems to be saying more crazy things.
* One episode of ''Series/{{Sliders}}'' has the gang land on a world where everyone has to wear "truth collars." While not quite a serum, the effect is the same.
* ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'': During the episode "Some Must Watch While Some Must Sleep," Sarah gets injected with something, and her assailant tells her she'll be talking within three hours.
* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Plains of Trenzalore are covered by a "truth field" meaning that "no-one can lie or stay silent". Which makes it the perfect/worst place to ask the ultimate question: "[[spoiler:Doctor who?]]" When the Doctor and Clara finally arrive there, they ask a local couple if they don't find the truth field a problem. One says yes and the other says no. Of course, the Doctor finds ''all sorts'' of ways around that over the course of the episode.
* In an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', the use of truth serum on a teenage girl creates FakeMemories of her being raped by her father. The ensuing FalseRapeAccusation leads to escalating tragedy.
* ''Series/BlakesSeven''
** In "Pressure Point", this is used to get a rendezvous code out of a RebelLeader. As Servalan has a personal grudge against the rebel, she deliberately gives her a lethal overdose.
** In Season 4, Pylene-50 is introduced being used for this purpose, though it's main use is to enable the easy conquest of planets by removing the urge to resist. It works by blocking the production of adrenaline, so the recipient [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul doesn't get angry]] and placidly goes along with anything suggested to them -- in this case answering questions about his mission and the resistance cell he's a part of.
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. In "The Promise", Professor Ivo uses sodium pentothal on Oliver Queen. However Sara Lance has worked up a picrotoxin to counteract the effects of the barbiturates in the sodium pentothal and given it to him beforehand. He intentionally gets captured and proceeds to feed Ivo false information.
* ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'': This is the purpose of the Confessor's touch. It causes the person touched to feel love toward the Confessor so overwhelmingly that they will tell them anything which they did, or do anything else asked. Thus, it's used to ensure a person accused of capital crimes is really guilty, gaining true confessions.

* In ''Series/AlloAllo'', Herr Flick of the Gestapo often uses truth serums in his interrogations. They are extracted from various animals, and have corresponding side-effects (the serum made from bats makes Mimi sleep while hanging upside-down, while one made from fireflies causes Smallhausen's butt to glow).
* Downplayed in ''Series/HogansHeroes'' in "At Last, Sergeant Schultz Knows Something": The Heroes are trying to find the location of a laboratory being used for atomic research, and Schultz (who is going to be assigned to guard the lab) is the only one who knows that they have access to. They dose him with sodium pentothal under the guise of an inoculation for his new post. As sodium pentothal is a low-level anesthetic and not a magic drug like the Heroes expect, Schultz doesn't just tell them, but he acts dazed and dopey (rambling, breaking into song) and gives them enough hints during a conversation with [=LeBeau=] about the food there that they can figure out where the lab is.
* In ''[[Series/StrangerThings Stranger Things 3]]'', Steve and Robin are captured by Soviets that have infiltrated the Starcourt Mall and beaten for information as to who sent them there. They repeatedly (and truthfully) insist that no-one sent them, that they just work for the mall itself. The Soviets, assuming Steve and Robin are lying to them, shoot them up with a severely disorienting drug in hopes that they won't have the presence of mind to keep their cover stories straight. The General isn't happy when Steve continues to insist they just work at the mall, though Steve eventually spills that they found their lab due to intercepting their cover frequency by sheer luck and that Dustin and Erica escaped and likely told the authorities about the Soviets. Said drug winds up making Steve and Robin puke their guts out after being severely high for hours.
* ''Series/TheBarrier'': During some interrogations, agents of the PoliceState are shown to inject people with a substance that seemingly makes it much harder for them to keep their mouths shut.
* ''{{Series/Bones}}'': Zack intends on injecting himself with truth serum so Brennan will believe he’s not the serial killer they’re after. She points out that it won’t work the way it does in fiction, though. Zack acknowledges it but says it’ll lower his inhibitions more and he’ll be less likely to lie. He doesn’t get to actually do it, though, as the real killer shows up.

* ''Music/{{Gorillaz}}'s'' music video for [[CruelTwistEnding "Aries" ends with Murdoc preparing]] [[spoiler:to inject 2-D with truth serum while on a peaceful motorcycle ride with him]] (implied to be because he wants answers as to what exactly 2-D and the other band members think of him now after the events of the "Désolé" music video.) [[LaserGuidedKarma However,]] Russel's intervention ensures that Murdoc doesn't learn a thing that he wanted to from the endeavor, and it's likely that doing such an awful thing has only served to make his relationships with everyone else [[SelfFulfillingProphecy worse than they were before.]]

* The ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' universe has Truth Drug. The recipient answers questions truthfully for two minutes, then falls unconscious for an hour and takes moderate damage.

* ''[[TabletopGame/BattlelordsOfTheTwentyThirdCentury Battlelords of the 23rd Century]]'' supplement ''Lock-N-Load: The Battlelord's War Manual''. Truth serum puts the recipient in a highly suggestible state for two hours and is 95% effective in getting them to tell the truth.

* ''Concentration Room'' begins when a group of kids visiting their parents at a drug research facility are [[GoneHorriblyWrong exposed to a botched batch]] of the truth serum Pinenut.
* The ConspiracyTheorist in ''VideoGame/CitizensOfEarth'' learns to use truth serum as one of his attacks... by drenching the enemy with a bucketful of it. Since this guy is rather mentally unstable, it's unknown if the thing he uses is actually truth serum or something else, so it has no effects. It does, however, [[ElementalRockPaperScissors count as an]] [[MakingASplash Aqua-Element Attack]].
* Discussed in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'': after [[spoiler:Naomi]] is captured as a spy, Campbell mentions that the interrogation (already under a severe time constraint) isn't going well, and they don't have any sodium pentathol on the base. It's doubtful it would work on its own, but the implication is that they're going to employed EnhancedInterrogationTechniques.
** This was also used decades earlier on [[spoiler:"Huey" Emmerich]] in the ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain The Phantom Pain]]''. [[spoiler:Problem is he managed to [[BelievingTheirOwnLies convince himself of his own lies]] so it's not very effective.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', Joker [[PoliceBrutality is forcefully injected with one by the police]], most likely to make him more susceptible to the request to sign his confession, [[PoliceBrutality though they do resort to outright assault and threats to get him to do so should he refuse]]. Notably, Sae calls the validity of Joker's statements into question multiple times during the interrogation, wondering if he's hallucinating [[spoiler:Which, if you get one of the bad endings, he ''is'']] or outright lying, and actually taking him more seriously when it started to wear off. [[spoiler:The serum nearly screwed up a straightforward plan to foil an assassination attempt directed at him made beforehand since it's wrecked his memory in several points which results in him nearly forgetting there ''was'' a plan, the identity of the Traitor and what he had to do, resulting in an insane GambitRoulette. He barely manages to pull through and perform his part of the plan which saves his life and fakes his death.]]

* A ''Webcomic/{{Maximumble}}'' [[http://maximumble.thebookofbiff.com/2016/12/19/1462-truth/ strip]] features a dentist injecting their patient with truth serum before asking "Have you been flossing?"

* In [[http://nonadventures.com/2014/01/11/fountain-of-truth/ one]] ''Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella'' comic, Hitlerella tells Wonderita that she has been injected with truth serum in order to tell Hitlerella the nuclear codes. Instead, Rita starts babbling inanely about anything that comes into her head, concluding that she's uncomfortable with silence because she thinks everyone is judging her. Then [[spoiler:Hitlerella's hench-being says he's ready to inject her with the truth serum]].

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' had Kim hit by a Truth Ray, with the full effect of the entire trope: not only could she not lie, but she was also compelled to say anything and everything, in [[TooMuchInformation far more detail than was needed]]. She confessed a crush to members of the sports teams, and [[DinnerWithTheBoss told her dad's bosses]] everything her dad found annoying about them (one tells ''very bad'' jokes, one won't stop talking about his home country, and one obviously wears a wig). She ended up covering her mouth to suppress the truth compulsion. Ron, who was hit by the same ray, instead becomes more confident and popular. He does things like admitting to Mr. Barkin that not only did he not read the assigned book, but that it was boring and dumb, earning Barkin's respect by stating an opinion he'd secretly shared, and winning the heart of a beautiful girl by talking about the beauty of her eyes.
* Subverted in "The Incredible Mr. Brisby" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', when Dr. Venture is given a truth serum to reveal what his research on cloning has yielded. Apparently, it has an antagonistic reaction with one of the multitude of pills Venture is taking, and makes him think he is some sort of country milkmaid and recite lines from ''Film/RearWindow'' (which might actually be a realistic reaction).

* An episode of the ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'' cartoon had Jay accidentally injected with a truth serum, which resulted in him speaking everything that popped into his head. He was perfectly capable of telling a direct lie unless asked a direct question-when first asked by some Muggles what's going on in this whole crisis here, he gives them one of the standard-issue weird-but-believable cover stories. When one of the bystanders finds himself impressed by this, he says, "Wow! Really?" and Jay admits that no, it's actually a cover story to hide the fact that he's a government agent meant to protect them from this threat and cover up the fact that it was ever there.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/RexTheRunt'' Bob and Rex start drinking what they assume is a truth serum (it was actually orange juice) and, presumably due to their [[YourMindMakesItReal minds making it real]] started admitting to old lies they'd told in the past, revealing secrets and plenty of assorted lampshading ("Why do you wear that {{eyepatch|OfPower}} anyway? You have two eyes!"). However, at the end of the episode, Wendy pours the real truth serum down the sink and we cut to a pair of rats in the sewer who start doing the same thing! Also, earlier on, [[CloudCuckoolander Vince]] stumbled upon the real serum and drank some of it. It caused him to see two creepy live-action guys with cameras, presumably the show's animators, and start babbling "The horror...the horror...". Yes, it's a weird show.
* This is the main point of the episode "Truth Ache" of ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar''.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', Gargamel captures the Smurfette and prepares a truth serum to force her to reveal the Smurf village's location. Unfortunately for him, Azrael steps on the potions book and accidentally turns the page to a potion of compulsive lying. In another episode, Papa Smurf gives a SnakeOilSalesman an ointment that acted like this to prevent him from ever lying about his products.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Dr. Doofenshmirtz plans to force the people to tell the truth with his Tell-The-Truth-inator which he built in the image of UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln. It works as intended, but what he does learn from the afflicted isn't interesting at all. He does hit Suzy with it during a scuffle with Perry by accident, who then flat-out blurts her attempts to make Candace look bad all morning.
* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'', Zatanna casts a spell during the interrogation of Professor Anthony Ivo, forcing him to blurt out the location of his rival's lab. He even glances down when his mouth moves against his will.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' episode "Grumpy Young Men", one of Jimmy's inventions turns him, Carl, and Sheen into old men. When they're about to age into dust, Jimmy convinces them to go back through the device with offers of prune whip on the other side, and when they return to normal, Carl is eating a bowl of what he thinks is prune whip but is actually Jimmy's experimental truth serum. He begins confessing secrets such as having stolen Jimmy's toast the other day and his mother being 47.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E13SelmasChoice Selma's Choice]]," Princess Opal accidentally confesses that her LovePotion is just corn syrup and rubbing alcohol and will likely make the user's hair fall out. This, however, demonstrates that the potion she'd actually ingested -- her truth serum -- really ''does'' work.