The series follows the story of a family man who finds the body of a young boy and quickly becomes the prime suspect in his murder. It emerges fairly early that the boy was his son from an extra-marital affair which is not quite over; the weapon used was an up-market torch (US:flashlight) identical to one he owns but can no longer locate. He cannot account for his movements, his wife has good reason to be suspicious of him; his elder daughter, who is attracted to a disreputable boy, is distant; only his wilful younger daughter is loyal, but consequently disrespectful of her mother. Not content to let the police do their work, and becoming increasingly frustrated at being questioned repeatedly, he tries to prove his innocence but only makes matters worse, goaded on by a well-meaning but obtuse fellow-tradesman. The film is set in Brisbane, South East Queensland, with its characteristic tropical architecture and weather, laissez-faire attitude to security and vast swathes of bushland. It is set at Christmas time, but apart from an indoor Christmas tree and decorations, some gift-giving and parties, this is given little prominence.

The series first screened on Network Ten on 3 March 2014.

It aired in the Republic of Ireland on RTÉ TWO HD from 30 March 2014,^[9] and in Canada on the CBC in July 2014.^[10] It premiered in the Netherlands on RTL 4 on 24 August 2014.^[11] Started in the UK on 23 September 2014 on Channel 5 and in France from 26 January to 2 February 2015 on France2.^[12]

It has also aired on SVT (Sweden), TV2 (Norway), Vitaya (Belgium), as well as Netflix in both Canada and the U.S.^[13]

Secrets and Lies has been acclaimed by critics and audiences. Denette Wilford of The Huffington Post has stated: "As for Secrets & Lies, so much great stuff is happening on this show – the writing, the directing and the acting; it manages to be completely authentic without trying too hard. It's riveting stuff, from the whodunit aspect to the family crap the Gundelachs are facing, which everyone can relate to."^[14] Lucy Mangan from The Guardian wrote in a review of the series; "Yes, we have seen its like before, in Broadchurch, but the opener more than holds its own against ITV's surprise hit."^[15] Many other critics have praised the performances, writing and direction of the series.

On 4 February 2014, the production company behind this version announced that a US version with the same title was in the works for ABC and would be co-produced with ABC Studios with a series penalty if the project is held back or not greenlighted by the network. The series premiered in the U.S. on 1 March 2015. Ryan Phillippe stars in this adaptation.^[18] On May 7, 2015, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 25, 2016.^[19][20]

On 2024, A loose Philippine adaptation will be released on Sari Sari Channel. Meryll Soriano and Baron Geisler stars in this adaptation.