It seems like scam narratives are the new trend. First, The Tinder Swindler came out on Netflix detailing Simon Leviev’s strategy to make women fall in love with him and support his high-profile façade. Now, the streaming service released its depiction of real-life con artist Anna Sorkin (played by Julia Garner), who convinced numerous of New York socialites and banks that she was a German heiress with a multi-million-dollar inheritance. As she puts a face to this lie, Sorkin maintains her Instagram influencer lifestyle under the identity of Anna Delvey, through loans and other illicit money-making strategies. The show is told from the perspective of an investigative journalist named Vivian (a character loosely based on New York Magazine journalist Jessica Pressler), who tries to uncover all the transactions and connections that led Delvey to a fraud trial.
If your interest in surreal scam stories has peaked after watching Inventing Anna, then we’ve got you covered with a couple of suggestions that will keep you amazed by the ease with which these characters fool people to get what they want.
Imposters
Instead of adopting a single identity like Anna, Maddie (Inbar Lavi) in Imposters is a skilled con artist who isn’t afraid of changing her looks or breaking hearts along the way. After she marries the victims and sticks long enough to flee with their prized possessions, she makes sure that her identity is intact by leaving a threatening video behind before heading to a new conquest. As Maddie embarks on a new mission, three of her former victims join forces to hunt her down.
White Collar
Imagine if Anna Sorkin was hired by the FBI to analyze similar cases to the one that put her behind bars? That’s what happens to highly skilled scammer Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) in White Collar. Eager to leave prison early, he proposes to FBI Special Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) that he become an investigation consultant. Agreeing to wear an ankle bracelet while out and about helping to solve crimes, Neal must fight the urge to go back to his old habits. If you are into procedural shows like FBI or Lie To Me, this series is a go-to watch.
Leverage
Not all con artists are driven by the compulsion for a wealthy lifestyle. In Leverage, Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton) and his team use their inner Robin Hood mentality to make sure that corrupt businessmen are detained. As they carry out heists for “the greater good”, Nate feels a sense of relief that he is helping people get out of tough situations that he couldn’t in the past when the insurance company he worked for refused to pay for his son’s medical treatment. Similar to White Collar, the show has a procedural setup with many different cases to immerse in.
Lupin
This next pick also features a thief with a legitimate reason behind his actions. In this Netflix original, Assane Diop (Omar Sy) uses the book character Arsène Lupin as inspiration to meticulously take down the Pellegrini family for falsely accusing his father of stealing a diamond necklace. Through charisma and trickery at its finest, Assane lays out his plan and even makes viewers sympathize with his experiences dealing with social class and racism. If you're looking to broaden your horizons with surreal acting and scenes that are shot in a chef’s kiss manner, Lupin is a binge-able option to add to your list.
The Catch
Turning things around from the scammer to the scammed, Alice Vaughan (Mireille Enos) knows exactly what Anna’s investors felt like when she fooled them into believing that she had a trust fund worth millions. An exceptional investigator, Alice is quick to dig deep when unveiling crimes but was unable to identify a con artist in her own home. After her fiancé disappeared with her money, she is determined to hunt him down and prevent him from ruining everything that she accomplished. If you enjoyed Shonda Rhimes’ latest Netflix production, might as well give another one of her projects a chance.
Sneaky Pete
Once his prison sentence comes to an end, con artist Marius Josipovic (Giovanni Ribisi) leaves his cell behind only to find out that his brother is being threatened by one of his former victims, a vicious gangster named Vince Lonigan (Bryan Cranston). As the gangster sets a deadline for Marius to pay off his debt, he adopts the identity of inmate Pete Murphy (Ethan Embry) and uses his skill in trickery to convince Murphy’s estranged family of his false identity. However, what Marius doesn’t know is that he is stepping into a territory that is just as dangerous as the one he is running from. This Amazon Prime original keeps you guessing with its incredible cast and its cat and mouse chase.
Dirty John
If Inventing Anna seems surreal when thinking about the fact that it was inspired by true events, then get prepared for another Netflix true-crime series also based on real-life stories. Dirty John is an anthology show that explores different love tales with deeply tragic endings. The first season is centered on Debra’s relationship with John Meehan, a “prince charming” she met online. All is well until it isn’t. Debra begins to doubt John’s whereabouts, deciding to then hire a private detective to follow him around. However, what she didn’t expect was that the truth would be much more haunting than she imagined. Like The Catch and Imposters, Dirty John presents victims trying to uncover a web of lies from their significant others.
Bonus: The Dropout
Now, here is a bonus recommendation to keep an eye out for in the near future. Hulu’s upcoming series starring Amanda Seyfried also features a successful businesswoman who constructed an empire out of persuasive talk. Based on the award-winning podcast created by ABC News correspondent Rebecca Jarvis, The Dropout unveils the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos. When building her company out of scratch, Elizabeth defrauded investors by sharing her revolutionary idea to use technology to operate any test with a few drops of blood. The series will come out on March 3, 2022, so write it down for a prospective binge.