Documentaries often cover stories that can be difficult to tell and ABC News Studios’ latest docuseries is no exception. Jen Faison’s Betrayal podcast is very well known but she had to go through some very difficult things to get to the point of even having the idea for it in the first place.
Based on the hit podcast, Betrayal: The Perfect Husband is a love story gone terribly wrong. Faison says she thought she had found her happy ending with her college sweetheart, a beloved high school teacher named Spencer Herron. However, their seemingly perfect life implodes one spring afternoon when Faison discovers that behind her fairytale romance was a web of lies, affairs and criminal sexual assault.
Betrayal: The Perfect Husband is a great example of expert storytelling. Right from the beginning, the audience is very well aware that something is wrong between Faison and Herron but that information is not just given away. Tension builds as the audience uneasily watches a seemingly perfect love story unfold, knowing something is going to take a terrible turn at some point.
One of the best things about this new docuseries is that it will be perfect for those who have enjoyed the podcast as well as those who have never heard the story before. The doc does a great job of telling the story on which the podcast focuses while also stepping back and looking at Faison’s entire world and what’s going on around the podcast. It’s very well balanced in that sense, which allows it to appeal to a broader audience.
It also covers a lot of bases, featuring interviews with dozens of people from Faison’s friends and neighbors to Herron’s former students and lovers. This allows the audience not only to see the story from a lot of different angles but also to see how these people involved in the lives of both Faison and Herron looked at the situation and how their opinions changed over time. That paints a picture of the impact this kind of situation has not only on those directly involved but the people on the peripherals as well.
This series also does an excellent job of educating people on the repercussions of every aspect of this story without feeling as though that is its primary objective. These kinds of documentaries, while often dark and focused on real human trauma, are created with entertainment in mind. This story is very compelling and it is told very well for this series. On top of that element of entertainment though, there is a message that allows the audience to see how people have been affected and how they can help.
Overall, Betrayal: The Perfect Husband isn’t the most groundbreaking or shocking story, but it is so expertly told that it draws the audience in and never lets go. It casts a wide net both in its storytelling – with dozens of interview – and its appeal to a broad audience – both fans of the podcast and those who have never listened. Perhaps most importantly, it can potentially open the eyes of people who may need to seek help or those who can help others.
ABC News Studios’ Betrayal: The Perfect Husband will premiere on Hulu on Tuesday, July 11.