Calling all true crime aficionados: A new year means a new roster of engrossing documentaries and scripted series to watch. As new projects are announced, we can see trends forming for what true crime themes will follow. For 2022, it's all about scams, as the stories of crimes that caught our attention years ago (the Summer of Scam, anyone?) are fleshed out into series, laying out everything we now know about what went down. For everyone dying to hear the whole story of your favorite scammers, here are the 2022 true-crime documentaries and series to watch out for.
'Cheer'
Cheer may be a sports docuseries, but its second season will have some true-crime mentions. The hit 2019 series is returning with more episodes acknowledging everything that happened since its first airing, including the coronavirus pandemic upending the world of professional cheer and the sexual misconduct allegations against breakout star Jerry Harris.
Premiere: Jan. 12 on Netflix
'The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman'
This three-part docuseries follows a conman who posed as a British spy and stole money from several victims. Though he was convicted in 2005, the crime comes full circle as a family in the present day starts fearing for their mom's safety.
Premiere: Jan. 19 on Netflix
'Inventing Anna'
Based on the viral The Cut article, Inventing Anna dives into the story of Anna Delvey, a mysterious NYC socialite who scammed her way into a life of luxury. This scripted series from Shonda Rhimes will follow the journalistic investigation into Delvey (played by Ozark's Julia Garner) building the story of the leader of 2018's Summer of Scam.
Premiere: Feb. 11 on Netflix
'Tinder Swindler'
This romance scam doc follows the victims of Shimon Hayut, a con man who wooed the women he met on Tinder into giving him hundreds of thousands of dollars, posing as a Russian oligarch called Simon Leviev. The team behind this juicy docs includes producers and director Felicity Morris from another Netflix hit, “Don’t F*** With Cats.”
Premiere: February (day TBD) on Netflix
'The Dropout'
The story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos has already spawned several books and an HBO Max documentary. Now it's getting the scripted treatment, with Amanda Seyfried playing the tech CEO who claimed to revolutionize medical blood testing (and whose trial just ended in a guilty verdict).
Premiere: March 3 on Hulu
'Bad Vegan'
In 2015, celebrity restauranteur and "Queen of Vegan Cuisine" Sarma Melngailis disappeared after embezzling millions of dollars from her raw-food eatery Pure Food and Wine. The investigation, laid out by Vanity Fair, found that she had been conned by her husband, Anthony Strangis, who convinces her that he could expand her food empire, and "make her beloved dog immortal"(?!). This Netflix docu-series will lay out how the couple went from vegan dreamers to runaway fugitives.
Premiere: TBD on Netflix
'Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King'
2022 is the year Netflix dives into crypto scams with the story of Gerry Cotten's suspicious death. When his death was announced in 2018, Cotten controlled the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Canada at the time, and was the only person with access to $217 million worth of crypto, according to his widow. Crypto King follows a group of investors turned amateur detectives who think believe the couple ran away with the money.
Premiere: TBD on Netflix
'Perfect World: The Gamer Murders'
One day in 2019, a group of gamers who've played together for years wake up to group chat messages of another friend confessing to three murders. A fourth is planned, and the friends rushed to find the murderer's identity before he can kill again. Based on a Vice article, this three-part docuseries lays out the real-life events of this quadruple homicide.
Premiere: TBD on Peacock
'Love and Death'
This scripted series is based on the real-life murder of Betty Gore by fellow housewife Candy Montgomery in a Texas suburb in 1980. Produced by Nicole Kidman and David E. Kelley and starring Elizabeth Olsen, the show's sure to be an engrossing hit.
Premiere: TBD on HBO Max
Quinci LeGardye is a LA-based culture writer who covers TV, movies and pop culture. When she isn’t writing or checking Twitter, she’s probably watching the latest K-drama or giving a concert performance in her car.
