TV’s Tales of True Crime Accountability Resonates As The Real World Turns Darker

variety.com:

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large There are some years where the TV trends are so obvious, it’s hard to ignore. And this year, one looms over all: The evolution of true crime, once the bastion of news magazines and cheesy made-for-TV movies of the week, into prestige television.

That has been true for a while in the documentary space, but the sheer number of ripped-from-the-headlines tales taking over the scripted world is truly astounding.And not all of them are tales of real-life death or murder (attempted or accomplished) — although plenty of them are, including “The Staircase,” “Candy,” “The Thing About Pam,” “Joe vs.

Carole,” “The Girl From Plainville” and the aptly named “Dr. Death.” But what really stands out in this year’s glut of true crime are the depictions of wealthy scoundrels trying to get away with their own corporate malfeasance (while harming others in the process).

The list is weighty: There’s “Dopesick” and its chronicle of how the Sackler family hooked a nation on opioids; “The Dropout” and how Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes scammed investors into believing her technology worked; and “Inventing Anna” and its protagonist Anna Delvey, who conned many New York elite.What makes these shows so satisfying?