Secret Truths

"**Secret Truths**"
"Secret Truths"
South of Nowhere episodes
	Spencer (right) meets Ashley in the school gym.
Episode nos.	Season 1; Episodes 1/2
Directed by	Donna Deitch
Written by	Thomas W. Lynch
Production code	101/102
Original air date	November 4, 2005
Guest appearances
	John Eric Bentley as Coach; Marcus Brown as Dallas; Edward Cannan as Counsellor; Aasha Davis as Chelsea; Marisa Lauren as Sherry; Dinah Lenney as Teacher; Dustin Meier as Cop #1; Quentin Prescott Price as Boz; Darryl Reed Jr. as Zak;
Episode chronology
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	List of episodes

"Secret Truths" is the two-part premiere episode of the American teen drama series South of Nowhere. It premiered on November 4, 2005 on Noggin's teen-targeted programming block, The N. It was written by series creator Thomas W. Lynch and directed by Donna Deitch. The episode introduces three siblings—Spencer, Glen and Clay Carlin—who start at a new school after their family moves from a small town in Ohio to Los Angeles.

Lynch conceived South of Nowhere from the idea of a teenager's coming out after hearing that his friend's son had come out to his parents. Lynch pitched the premise to Noggin LLC and was commissioned to write the pilot. After the casting process was complete, the episode was filmed in October 2004, but when the show was picked up for a full season, Lynch decided to recast many of the characters and the pilot was shot again in July 2005 with the new cast. The premiere of the episode was promoted with branded MetroCards that were handed out to teenagers in Manhattan. Generally, critics reviewed the pilot positively, particularly commending its treatment of current social issues; however, some critics found the show's introduction of these issues to be forced and inauthentic.