Shows Like ‘The Gift of Deceit’ That Dig Into Scams, Secrets and Family Betrayal
‘The Gift of Deceit’ arrived on Netflix on October 28 as a Brazilian melodrama of 10 episodes set in Rio de Janeiro, starring Marieta Severo, Alice Wegmann and Nanda Costta. Art collector Lúcia Rossetti turns to a spiritual therapist while searching for a cure for her daughter’s unknown illness, only to become the victim of a scam that exposes the ties between two families.
The series was created by Diane Maia and Mirna Nogueira and directed by Mauro Mendonça Filho, and it promises family intrigue, manipulation and shocking twists. Viewers who finish it will find plenty of related stories about fraud, desperation and the people left in the wreckage, starting with the director’s own earlier work.
‘Hidden Truths’
Mauro Mendonça Filho previously directed ‘Hidden Truths’, which makes it a natural place to start. The story follows a teenager who dreams of a modeling career and meets a powerful, obsessive businessman who marries her mother just to be near her.
It explores obsession, wealth and pleasure against the backdrop of the fashion world. The first season won the International Emmy Award for Best Telenovela in 2015, and Marieta Severo appeared in it before joining ‘The Gift of Deceit’.
‘Inventing Anna’
Created by Shonda Rhimes, ‘Inventing Anna’ tells the story of Anna Sorokin, known as Anna Delvey and played by Julia Garner, who convinced New York’s upper echelons she was a German socialite and funded her lifestyle with other people’s money.
Journalist Vivian Kent, played by Anna Chlumsky, tries to get to the bottom of the story while the fake heiress awaits trial. The series set a record for the most-watched English language series in a single week on Netflix.
‘Apple Cider Vinegar’
‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ is a six episode drama about Australian wellness influencer Belle Gibson, played by Kaitlyn Dever, who claimed to have cured terminal brain cancer through alternative remedies despite never having been diagnosed.
Illness is the lever in both stories. The series contrasts Gibson with two genuinely ill young women who are searching for miracle cancer cures, which echoes the desperation that pushes Lúcia toward a spiritual therapist.
‘The Dropout’
‘The Dropout’ is a Hulu drama based on the Theranos scandal, following healthcare start up founder Elizabeth Holmes, played by Amanda Seyfried. Holmes claimed her company had developed technology that could revolutionize blood testing, although the product did not work the way the company said it did.
Like ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’, it follows female fraudsters in the health and wellness industry, though the two shows tell their stories very differently. Critics have described it as a compelling and darkly comic portrait.
‘I Care a Lot’
In the film ‘I Care a Lot’, Rosamund Pike plays con artist Marla Grayson, who persuades judges to grant her guardianship over elderly people she falsely claims cannot care for themselves. She and her girlfriend, played by Eiza González, sell their targets’ possessions and keep the profits.
The scheme collapses when she targets the wrong family, a mafia crime matron played by Dianne Wiest and her vengeful son played by Peter Dinklage.
‘The Tinder Swindler’
‘The Tinder Swindler’ documents Simon Leviev, born Shimon Hayut, who tricked matches from the dating app into taking out loans and lines of credit on his behalf. He made multiple millions this way and bankrolled a life of luxury across Europe.
His scheme ended only when one of his dates managed to swindle him right back.
‘Dirty John’
In its first season, ‘Dirty John’ follows serial divorcee Debra Newell, played by Connie Britton, who falls for the charming John Meehan, played by Eric Bana. She soon discovers dark secrets that put her whole family in danger.
The romance becomes a struggle involving denial and manipulation that reaches an entire family, a dynamic that echoes the tension between the two families in ‘The Gift of Deceit’.
‘Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare’
Based on a podcast of the same name, this British documentary film examines the emotional and psychological toll of catfishing. Radio presenter Kirat Assi kept up an online relationship for almost ten years before learning that the real Bobby Jandu had never even spoken to her.
The film then turns to the question of who she was actually speaking with all that time.
‘Joan’
‘Joan’ is a British true crime drama in which Sophie Turner plays Joan Hannington, a woman who became a major player in the criminal underworld and was known to some as The Godmother. The series is based on Hannington’s own memoir and set in the 1980s.
Joan becomes a talented jewel thief, driven by the desire to build a safe and secure home for herself and her daughter. That maternal motive gives it a quiet kinship with Lúcia’s story.
‘Anatomy of a Scandal’
Netflix’s ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’ is a British crime drama from ‘Big Little Lies’ creator David E. Kelley, based on a novel by Sarah Vaughan rather than a true story. Politician James Whitehouse, played by Rupert Friend, admits to an affair with his aide, and a serious accusation against him then plays out in court, with Michelle Dockery as the prosecutor.
Lúcia Rossetti’s choices in ‘The Gift of Deceit’ keep inviting questions about who deserves sympathy, so which of these deceivers do you think comes closest to her story, and does the series sit better beside the true crime titles or an invented case like ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’?
