Burden of Truth is a serialized investigative drama about life-altering legal cases, the helpless plaintiffs searching for answers, and the boots-on-the-ground lawyers fighting incredible odds to deliver justice.

In season three, Joanna Chang (Kristin Kreuk) and Billy Crawford (Peter Mooney) are working together in their new boutique law firm, Crawford Chang, but they’re discovering that living and litigating together has its challenges. On a cathartic trip back to Millwood for a class reunion, an old friend, Kodie, (Sera-Lys McArthur) turns Joanna’s life upside down when her children are removed by Millwood Family Services. Kodie believes she is the victim of a conspiracy and pleads for Joanna to help solve the case and bring her children back.

Sera-Lys McArthur, who portrays Kodie Chartrand on CW’s television drama Burden of Truth, is a Nakota/Assiniboine and German-Canadian actress from the prairies of Saskatchewan in western Canada.

I was able to talk with the busy entertainer about her career and her Indigenous roots. Here’s what she had to say.

Nancy Tapia: Congratulations on joining the third season of Burden of Truth that just came out May 21st on the CW! How exciting is this? 

Sera-Lys McArthur: So exciting! It is my largest role yet on a series that is airing in the US. It is one I put a lot of myself into and I am very excited to share this season with viewers.  

Nancy Tapia: How did you get involved?

Sera-Lys McArthur: A good, old fashioned audition! I was already in Winnipeg, Canada last summer, filming the lead role on an independent sci-fi film called The First Encounter (stay tuned for that release announcement) and I was scheduled to go start a play in Princeton, NJ, immediately afterward. But then this audition came up to play Kodie. I could tell that the character was going to be a lot of fun because she was all over the emotional spectrum, a real spit-fire. But I had no idea exactly how integral the role would be throughout the entirety of the third season. Because I was already in the same city as filming would be, I was able to go in for a screen test with the executive creative team, on one of the few mornings I had off from the film. I was thrilled when I got the part, but also nervous and disappointed to have to back out of the theatre contract I was slated for. In hindsight, I know I made the right choice!  

Nancy Tapia: Were you already watching the show? If so, what did you enjoy about it? If not, after viewing what did you look forward to?

Sera-Lys McArthur:  I had actually watched the first episode at the time of my audition, but I had also previously auditioned for three other characters over the first and second seasons, even getting a callback for one of them. While at the time I was disappointed to not have been cast in any of the other roles, now I am really glad that I wasn’t, or else I would not have had the chance to play Kodie! She is by far the most in-depth and juicy character of the ones I went out for. I watched the whole first season before shooting started, and then caught up on the 2nd season while we were filming the 3rd. I enjoyed the strong, multi-racial female characters leading the storylines. I also loved how it cleverly delved into real issues affecting the local community, while framing it in a fictional reality.

Nancy Tapia: What can viewers expect from Kodie joining this season? 

Sera-Lys McArthur: You can expect to learn a lot more about Joanna Chang’s (Kristin Kreuk) past and why she is who she is, illuminated by Kodie and Joanna’s history as girlhood best friends. You will see how important a parent-child bond is and how systemic discrimination can hurt people’s lives. Prepare for a lot of your heartstrings being tugged; it’s a dramatic ride!

Nancy Tapia: Tell us a little bit about yourself. You’re a full package, actress, producer and model. How and when did Sera-Lys know she wanted to be in the entertainment industry? From what I read you started rather young.

Sera-Lys McArthur: Oh, why thank-you! Yes, I did start rather young. Basically, I grew up in the middle of nowhere in Canada and I did not know anyone in my family or circle who had a career in entertainment, so I didn’t really understand that it was a career option. When I was 11 years old, my neighbor friend signed up for a kids modeling class, and I was like, “what’s that?” She said it was how you learned to be in fashion shows and magazines. I decided I wanted to try it and I really enjoyed it. Then I was on the children’s roster at this modeling agency. When a miniseries came through to film in my region, they were looking for a young mixed race Indigenous and Caucasian girl to play a key supporting role in a period drama. The agency sent me in and luckily, I got the part! I was taking my first acting workshop when I got the news! It was such a wonderful experience working on set and I knew I wanted to try and keep doing it. So I trained a lot, auditioned some and made a plan to move to New York City to study musical theatre as soon as I graduated from high school. I literally got on a plane the morning after my graduation. The rest is history, really. I did more modeling in NYC after graduating from my conservatory training program. I moved to Vancouver to continue studying and pursuing acting opportunities. I moved to London, UK and got my master’s degree in Acting from East 15 at the University of Essex. I lived in LA for a year after that. My theatre and Canadian television career really started to take off after I relocated to Toronto. Now I split my time between New York and Toronto. I love NYC. It really got into my blood when I spent some formative years here as a young adult. And yes, I have also begun to work as a producer. I have produced several short films and one full-length Off Off Broadway play. I am currently helping develop several feature length screenplays, and will be filming a short film based on one of them as soon as we are able to get back to set.

Nancy Tapia: What attracted you to producing? Do you have something in the works you can share?

Sera-Lys McArthur:  I love telling stories, especially from a unique cultural perspective. Being an Indigenous North American person in the entertainment industry has illuminated a need for accurate representation of our people in the media, and more of it. Growing up in a world where I almost never saw someone on screen playing a modern character of my own race and gender, made it difficult for me to identify a life or career path that I could follow. Through producing, I hope to change that reality for the younger generations. I work with fellow Indigenous filmmakers, as well as allies who want to include Indigenous content in their projects in a respectful and accurate way. 

There is a feature length screenplay that I have been on board developing for a while now, with Cree screenwriter, director and multidisciplinary artist Thirza Cuthand. We decided to make a short film based on her feature script. It’s a sci-fi thriller with strong themes surrounding the very real issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S, formerly MMIW). We received full funding to complete the film from the Harold Greenberg Fund. We’ll be going into production as soon as we are allowed to start filming again. The short film is titled Kiskosimakan (Whistling). 

Nancy Tapia: I understand you’re a member of Nakota/Assiniboine Nation. For those not familiar can you tell us what it’s about?

Sera-Lys McArthur: Pinamaya (Thank-you) for asking. Nakota is how we are described in Canada, and Assiniboine is how we are referred to in the USA, but we speak the same language with some dialectic variation between various tribal Nations. It is under the Siouxan language umbrella, which also includes Lakota, Dakota and Osage (Wha-zha-zhi). You will notice some strong similarities between those languages, and many shared root words. When we pronounce Nakota, we actually use a “d” sound in the final consonant, unlike Lakota and Dakota. So sometimes you will see our language/people written as Nakoda. Assiniboine is actually a Cree word used to describe our people and translates as “cooks with stones.” This was how they differentiated us from other Siouxan tribes (Sioux is a French blanket-term to describe all of us in the similar language group). So you can see why it is confusing to try and tell people what tribal Nation we are from sometimes. It depends who we were talking to and who was writing it down. When we speak about ourselves in our own language, we say “Nakon.” Nakota is an endangered language and there are few fluent speakers left today. I have learned to speak my language for multiple roles and audition pieces. I have definitely gotten a lot better at catching on to it, but it is difficult to practice, since I do not live anywhere near our traditional territory. I hope to one day become fluent and also to pass along my knowledge to the next generation. 

Nancy Tapia: To finalize, any projects you’d like to share with us that we will be seeing you in the future?

Sera-Lys McArthur:  I have lead roles in two independent feature films which are both in post right now: Don’t Say Its Name, a horror monster movie in which I play a badass, gun-toting park ranger; and The First Encounter, a sci-fi alien flick. I also have a key supporting role in a supernatural novel-to-movie called Monkey Beach. Stay tuned for more news about when and where these will be premiered and released in the coming year. If you want to watch a great heist film, get on your Amazon Prime Video acount and find Robbery, which is included in your membership and available now. Keep up to date with all of this more easily by following me on my socials: @seralysmcarthur (IG & Twitter) and my website, www.seralysmcarthur.com

Nancy Tapia: Thank you for your time. Be safe and wish you success in your upcoming projects. 

Sera-Lys McArthur: Pinamaya. It was my pleasure!

McArthur certainly shows her acting abilities throughout the third season. Already aired in Canada, the episodes are now airing on The CW weekly. McArthur is in each episode and is an essential part of the story.

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