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11 shows to watch next if you loved Netflix's 'Inventing Anna'

Esme Mazzeo,Libby Torres   

11 shows to watch next if you loved Netflix's 'Inventing Anna'
In "Inventing Anna," Sorokin hosts a dinner party with Martin Shkreli.Netflix
  • "Inventing Anna" is based on the real-life story of "Soho scammer" and fake heiress Anna Sorokin (aka Anna Delvey).
  • Shonda Rhimes' adaptation for Netflix premiered on the streaming service in February.

"The Act"

"The Act"
Joey King on Hulu's "The Act."      Hulu

Patricia Arquette and Joey King star as Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard (respectively), a real-life mother-daughter duo who drew national attention after Gypsy was convicted in 2016 of killing Dee Dee with the help of her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn.

The Blanchards' story is further complicated by the fact that Dee Dee appeared to be affected by factitious disorder imposed on another (formerly known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy), which caused her to pretend that the healthy Gypsy Rose was severely ill and disabled.

Hulu's "The Act" is a fascinating look at this disturbing case, anchored by Arquette's and King's stellar performances.

"The Dropout"

"The Dropout"
Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes in "The Dropout."      Hulu

Amanda Seyfried stars as former biotech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu's "The Dropout."

The drama tells the story of Holmes' early career when she dropped out of Stanford University to start Theranos, a company that Holmes claimed used advanced blood-testing technology and required only one drop of blood to produce test results within 10 minutes.

The technology was later found to be flawed and misleading, according to a 2015 Wall Street Journal report by John Carreyrou.

Holmes is currently imprisoned after being convicted of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on January 3, 2022. "The Dropout" chronicles Theranos's and Holmes's decline.

"Dirty John"

"Dirty John"
Eric Bana and Connie Britton in "Dirty John."      Netflix

"Dirty John" is an anthology series that tells stories of con artists.

The first season unravels the long con of John Meehan (played by Eric Bana), who charmed Debra Newell (played by Connie Britton) into believing he was marriage material after just months of dating.

As their romance went on and Newell's relationships with her daughters became strained, she also began to uncover evidence that Meehan — who told her he was a doctor — had a criminal record, and abused the women he manipulated to believe his lies.

"Dirty John" tells Newell's story of trying to escape Meehan's grasp, which ends in a fatal confrontation between him and Newell's daughter, Terra.

Season two of the show tells the story of Betty Broderick from her perspective. Broderick was convicted of killing her ex-husband, Dan Broderick, and his wife, Linda Kolkena Broderick, in a double homicide in November 1989.

Broderick accused Dan, a well-known lawyer, of "legal influence to cheat her out of her fair share of his seven-figure annual income," per the Los Angeles Times. She's played by Amanda Peet on season two of the show.

"Dirty John" is streaming now on Netflix.

"WeCrashed"

"WeCrashed"
Jared Leto as Adam Neumann in "WeCrashed."      Apple TV+

Based on a podcast by Wondery, Apple TV+'s drama "WeCrashed" follows the meteoric rise — and later implosion — of WeWork, a tech startup founded by Adam Neumann.

Fans of "Inventing Anna" will be drawn to the larger-than-life characters (Jared Leto plays Neumann, and Anne Hathaway plays his wife, Rebekah) and intriguing story of an optimistic startup quickly falling apart.

Stream "WeCrashed" on Apple TV+ now.

The Fyre Festival documentaries

The Fyre Festival documentaries
Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland      Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

The infamously ill-fated Fyre "music" festival (where attendees were greeted with water-logged tents and cheese sandwiches instead of the "luxury" experience they'd been promised and paid for) is the focus of two documentary series that are currently available to stream.

One, from Hulu, is called "Fyre Fraud," and the other, from Netflix, is called, "Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened." Both shows try to determine, how, exactly, a luxury experience promoted by influencers like Kendall Jenner turned into a massive disaster.

"Tinder Swindler"

"Tinder Swindler"
"Tinder Swindler" was released on February 2, 2022.      Netflix

Simon Leviev, the subject of Netflix's recent true-crime documentary, reportedly scammed women across the globe out of thousands of dollars on the dating app Tinder by posing as the son of a diamond mogul. Like Sorokin, however, he was eventually caught and sent to prison, although Leviev was released in 2020 after only serving five months of his sentence.

Leviev's scam — and the subsequent aftermath — have more than a few similarities to Sorokin's case.

"LulaRich"

"LulaRich"
DeAnne and Mark Stidham, the founders of LuLaRoe.      Courtesy of Amazon Studios

"LulaRich" is a documentary series that tells the story of clothing company LuLaRoe.

Through interviews with the company's founders Mark and DeAnne Stidham, the series explains how the couple created a billion-dollar business. Though it has a similar structure to a multi-level marketing company, the Stidhams claim it's not because customers can buy merchandise directly on the website.

The series features interviews with former employees who held high-ranking positions at the company. Those ex-staffers explain the unethical things they say they were asked to do for the business, including going to a foreign country to get plastic surgery. People who were once on the inside detail the company's many issues that range from a lack of diversity to smelly leggings.

Former sellers of the famously bright and fun patterned leggings, dresses, and skirts explain how they made money with LuLaRoe, only to lose their savings in some cases. The series also features sellers who are still happily selling clothing with LuLaRoe.

"LulaRich" is available to stream now on Amazon Prime.

"Cruel Summer"

"Cruel Summer"
Chiara Aurelia and Olivia Holt in the "Cruel Summer" season finale.      Freeform/Bill Matlock

Freeform's "Cruel Summer" is a fictional psychological thriller that forces the audience to choose a side between Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia ) and Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt).

Kate is the quintessential "popular girl" in the 1990s who has the life that awkward Jeanette lusts after. When Kate goes missing, Jeanette seemingly takes over her perfect life, even dating her boyfriend.

But is it true that Jeanette knew Kate's fate all along, as Kate claims upon her rescue three years later, and left her in danger in order to stay relevant on the high school social scene?

Though it's fiction, "Cruel Summer" is a fascinating examination of a long con... or not. The core questions it asks are similar to ones we are asking about Sorokin after watching "Inventing Anna."

"Cruel Summer" is available to stream now on Hulu.

"Ozark"

"Ozark"
Julia Garner on "Ozark."      Netflix

Fans of Julia Garner in "Inventing Anna" should definitely check out another Netflix drama "Ozark," which follows the Byrde family as they become involved in drug trafficking in rural Missouri.

Garner's character Ruth is one of the most interesting to watch, and the actress proves that she can switch between playing a fake European heiress and a tough-as-nails country bumpkin without batting an eye.

The remaining episodes in the fourth and final season of "Ozark" will be released on April 29.

"Scandal"

"Scandal"
Lowes with Kerry Washington on "Scandal."      Danny Feld/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

"Scandal" follows the life and clients of Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), the head of a crisis management firm and a former White House communications director.

"Inventing Anna" tells the story of how Sorokin conned Manhattan's elite and by contrast, "Scandal" explores how Washington DC's richest residents con others.

Of course, "Scandal" was also created by Rhimes, so it features some of the same cast as "Inventing Anna" like Katie Lowes and Jeff Perry.

You can stream "Scandal" now on Hulu.

"The Catch"

"The Catch"
"The Catch."      ABC

"The Catch" is a short-lived ABC drama also created by Rhimes.

The show follows private investigator Alice Vaughn (Mireille Enos) in her pursuit of a serial con artist who also just happens to be her lover, Benjamin Jones (aka Christopher Hall), played by "9-1-1" star Peter Krause.

You can stream "The Catch" on Hulu.

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