Sumith Prasad
Based on Jessica Pressler’s New York article ‘How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People,’ Netflix’s drama series ‘Inventing Anna’ centers around Anna Delvey, an infamous con artist who tricked the elites of New York for money. The series progresses through a journalist’s attempts to unravel the enthralling saga of Anna, exploring her past and crimes. Starring Julia Garner as Anna Delvey, the engrossing crime show opens a gateway to the astounding world of “con artistry.” If you are looking forward to watching such engaging shows, we are here to share a list of recommendations. You can watch most of these shows similar to ‘Inventing Anna’ on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.
7. The Catch (2016-2017)
From the world of Shondaland and executive producer Shonda Rhimes, who created ‘Inventing Anna,’ ABC’s ‘The Catch’ is a highly entertaining show that centers around fraudster Benjamin Jones. The master con artist tricks private investigator Alice Vaughan by acting as her fiancé. The series progresses through Alice’s attempts to capture the master conman as he displays his efficiency to challenge her. Like ‘Inventing Anna,’ ‘The Catch’ offers an intricate portrayal of a con artist who commits frauds for a living. Like Anna, Benjamin Jones is a con artist with a designated bag of tricks to fool his victims.
6. Dirty John (2018-)
Based on the eponymous podcast by Christopher Goffard, the first season of Alexandra Cunningham’s anthology series ‘Dirty John’ revolves around John Meehan, a conman who poses as an anesthesiologist to deceive Debra Newell, a wealthy interior designer who owns her own design company. The first season of the show illustrates the eponymous John’s life, his life as a conman, and his attempts to fraud Debra. Like ‘Inventing Anna,’ the first season of ‘Dirty John’ is based on the true story of a real-life con artist. John, like Anna, stole the hearts of several people to succeed with his tricks.
5. Sneaky Pete (2015-2019)
Created by ‘Breaking Bad’ fame Bryan Cranston and David Shore, Amazon Prime Video’s Sneaky Pete is a “con story” with a twist. The show centers around conman Marius Josipović, who is hunted by gangsters from his past. As an escape from the threats he faces, Marius tricks the family of his cellmate, Pete Murphy, by assuming Pete’s identity. He “reunites” with Pete’s family, only to get entangled in a world he wants an escape from. While ‘Inventing Anna’ tells the tale of someone who built her life by being a con artist, the Giovanni Ribisi-starrer depicts the tale of a conman who pulls his tricks for survival.
4. Imposters (2017-2018)
Bravo’s dark comedy series ‘Imposters’ revolves around Maddie Jonson, a con artist who marries her targets to steal their valuables shortly after marrying them. When Maddie successfully tricks Ezra Bloom with her team, Ezra teams up two of Maddie’s previous victims to find her. As in ‘Inventing Anna,’ the series progresses through a detailed look at Maddie’s history as a con artist, investigated by her three victims rather than a journalist. Both the shows follow a female con artist who pulls tricks efficiently around men to achieve success.
3. Leverage (2008-2012)
While ‘Inventing Anna’ tells the tale of an individual con artist, TNT’s ‘Leverage’ follows a group of con artists with members of individual skillset to complement each other in well-planned cons. The episodes of the show chiefly depict the Leverage team’s cons elaborately, while also following their personal lives. Like Anna, the team targets wealthy and elite to con, using their highly-polished skills to deceive their adversaries. Even though Anna and the team’s motivations differ, their methods and ways are equally enthralling.
2. White Collar (2009-2014)
As far as white-collar crime shows are concerned, USA Network’s ‘White Collar’ is a highly rated show that centers around one of the most charming con artist characters in television history, Neal Caffrey. A renowned con artist, Neal Caffrey is captured by the FBI Special Agent Peter Burke. Caffrey joins hands with Burke to help him with white-collar crime investigations to release him from prison. Like Anna and Vivian in ‘Inventing Anna,’ Caffrey and Burke associate to unravel the mysteries of con artistry, however, in different settings. Both the shows are also windows to the world of startling white-collar crimes.
1. Hustle (2004-2012)
BBC’s British series ‘Hustle’ is an out-and-out con show. Created by Tony Jordan, the series follows a group of con artists who specialize in “long cons,” which requires time and commitment to reap extraordinary rewards. The show is arguably one of the best con shows ever made and ran for an extraordinary length of eight seasons. While ‘Inventing Anna’ offers a peculiar glimpse at white-collar crimes and con jobs, ‘Hustle’ illustrates the same in a larger canvas, depicting several highly engaging cons. While Anna’s one-woman show covers the former, the latter follows a team of con artists who teams up to achieve success.
Read More: Where Was Inventing Anna Filmed?
