Secrets, Lies and DNA Ties

Secrets, Lies, and DNA Ties is the absolute bottom of the barrel when it comes to reality TV, proving once again that no concept is too ludicrous, no production too lazy, and no dignity too sacred for the genre to exploit. Set in Winnipeg, of all places (because apparently no one else wanted to host this train wreck), the show pretends to be a high-stakes journey of uncovering family truths. Instead, it delivers a cheap, cringe-worthy mess that feels more scripted than a junior high school play.

The concept itself is already a stretch: contestants visit a shady DNA clinic to "prove or disprove" relationships, origins, and family ties. But instead of emotional revelations, we're subjected to fabricated drama, overacted breakdowns, and results so obviously fake they might as well have been generated with a Magic 8-Ball. The only thing this show exposes is its own lack of effort.

The clinic staff are a joke-literally. They appear to have been hired based on their ability to vaguely resemble lab techs, but their qualifications end there. One guy spends most of his time eating donuts in the background, while the so-called "head scientist" looks like she Googled "how to act like a doctor" ten minutes before filming. Their "DNA analysis" process is equally laughable, involving blinking lights, random beeping machines, and plenty of intense button-pushing that looks suspiciously like they're playing Tetris.

Then there's the cast of contestants, a group of fame-hungry caricatures who clearly studied at the school of bad improv. Their supposed family drama ranges from absurd to downright offensive: a woman convinced her ex is secretly her cousin, a guy who thinks he's descended from royalty because he "feels regal," and-my personal favorite-a pair of coworkers arguing over whether they're long-lost siblings. Every interaction is over-the-top, every confrontation is forced, and every "revelation" falls flatter than Winnipeg in winter.

The editing team deserves a special shoutout for their spectacular failure to create any sense of suspense or coherence. Awkward cuts, exaggerated reaction shots, and dramatic music cues that don't match the scene make the show feel less like a TV production and more like a poorly executed TikTok skit. The script's reliance on clichés like "This changes EVERYTHING!" or "The truth will DESTROY us!" only adds insult to injury.

Ultimately, Secrets, Lies, and DNA Ties is an insult to viewers, science, and the city of Winnipeg itself. The only "secret" worth solving here is how this disaster got greenlit in the first place. If you value your brain cells, skip this hot mess and let it fade into obscurity where it belongs.

The good reviews must be from the cast or the directors. Believe the bad reviews! They should have never produced more than one episode of this mess. It is an interesting idea for a show but the result is a disaster.

None of the cast is good in front of the camera. Ali is fake. Mitch is trying too hard to put on a "look at me" act. Carla's lips are so distracting I can't even pay attention to what she says. The cast's acting about the exercise was so bad it should have been edited out.

I'm really trying to find something good about this show but it's impossible. The results presentation is uncomfortable and Ali acts like she has never given ppl their results before.

If you choose to watch this after reading the reviews, just remember I told you so.

They really seem unprofessional. You don't go to professional DNA services to have them cold call potential relatives and just beg "Please, please, please" to get them to talk. The client could do that themselves.

And the awkward, unbelievable fake drama with the staff is 100% a waste of audience time.

I just have no idea what these people do that the clients can't do through self DNA testing sites. Instead of the patronizing fake situations threaded into the client stories they could be explaining part of their process that makes their service valuable and not some way of scamming people to pay extra for things they can do themselves.

Giving 4 stars for the client stories with are the only interesting part of this show.

This is like a conglomeration of The Maury Povich Show, Storage Wars and any bad soft core porn, with actual dna stories mixed in between. I don't know how else to describe it. It's a train wreck I can't stop watching, but the cringe is so hard I keep asking myself wtf am I watching? I would say absolutely give it a watch. But don't expect Finding Your Roots or Who Do You Think You Are? This is more like Choices, the DNA results, Canada. It seems like they are inferring they are doing some kind of research on specimens collected while it's quite obvious they are a middle man office doing business in between the lab and the lay person. I'm not sure if these are people from an actual office or just actors portraying office people. It doesn't seem to matter. The clients, when telling their stories, feel very real and at that point during the episodes it feels like it's a real ancestry show. I can't tell what generation this office is supposed to be from, but it reminds me of the 1990's, early 2000's high end art venue or spa, massage parlor maybe... It's just off. And the little off putting scenarios that aren't connected to the family stories are weird and seriously unacceptable office behavior. If you're up for a laugh and a good DNA solved family story, watch this. It's crazy wild, but somehow serious and potentially heartwarming. I dunno. It's a lot.

DNA stories are always interesting, but this staff doesn't seem professional. The lips? Glazed-dipped, so distracting, especially in overly bearing colors. The DNA results and situations weren't anything clients couldn't find online. One storyline shows a man receiving money from his dead biological father only if he agrees to not reach out to his family. Seems more like a pay-off than a genuine inheritance. Terrible show! The staff trying to connect with and counsel clients when they have zero professional training is just unethical to say the least. Not to mention the storylines where they are confirming DNA testing the client already has. Wow, surprise, the clients' original DNA tests were accurate. Not worth watching.