Under the Bridge’s Cam Bentland, the investigative officer in the true-crime series, is a fictional character. The Hulu series premiered on April 17, 2024, and concluded with its final episode on May 29, 2024. Unlike most characters, such as the main victim, the perpetrators, and the investigative writer, Cam Bentland was created by the show’s writers to represent a composite of the police officers investigating Reena Virk’s death.

As viewers are aware, Under the Bridge presents the real-life murder of Reena, a 14-year-old Indo-Canadian girl in the Saanich area of suburban Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The November 1997 incident highlighted the problems of peer pressure and teenage bullying in society. Writer Rebecca Godfrey actively investigated the case and later published it in a book of the same name as the series.

While most characters are adapted from the original book, Cam Bentland is inspired by the many officers Rebecca met during her investigation.

Under the Bridge‘s Cam Bentland is a fictional character

Cam is shown as a Native police official (Image via Hulu)© Provided by SK POP

While most characters in a true-crime depiction are based on real-life people, Cam Bentland’s character in Under the Bridge is a fictional one. It was written keeping in mind all the officials that writer Rebecca met while investigating the case. Cam is depicted as a Native woman adopted by a white family at a very young age, facing similar identity issues as the story’s victim, Reena Virk.

Through Cam’s character, the series subtly hints at how race might affect reactions in a society dominated by one race with a victim from another. Cam’s character also highlights the potential between the police and people of color. Moreover, her identification as a queer person brings other topics into focus.

Why is Cam Bentland’s character vital to the series?

A scene showing Cam with a Saanich Police cap (Image via Hulu)© Provided by SK POP

As per actor Lily Gladstone, who played Cam in Under the Bridge, the police officer represented a lot of issues together. Considering that the events covered in the series occurred in 1997, Cam was a woman in a predominantly male-dominated world.

Additionally, she was a Native person adopted by a white family, working in a primarily white-dominated locality. This created a backdrop for the identity crisis an officer may have faced in the 1990s. According to Lily Gladstone, speaking to The New York Times, this was crucial:

“This sense of being a woman in a man’s world and also being an outsider. Cam represents a lot of conversations that are not in the book itself…”

Furthermore, Cam identifies as a person with a different s*xual orientation, which was not a common thing at the time of the event.

What happened to Cam by the end of the series?

Throughout the series, Cam is seen pulling all the stops to bring justice to Reena, from pursuing Kelly to keeping Dusty off the stands. In her investigations, she is helped by her adoptive father, Chief of Police Roy Bentland.

In the final episode, titled Mercy Alone, justice takes its own course as both Warren and Kelly are found guilty and sentenced. Cam consoles an unhappy Rebecca about Gabe’s suicide, and Rebecca returns to New York to publish her book.

The episode also sees Cam Bentland learning more about her adoption. She finds that she was forcibly taken from her birth family and put up for adoption under the Adopt Indian Métis Program. Armed with this knowledge, Cam embarks on a journey to seek out her birth family, in a bid to reconnect with them.

Catch the nuances of Cam Bentland’s character in the series. Under the Bridge is currently available for streaming on Hulu.