Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Attention network execs: there is a hot trend in TV and if you’re not already on it, you’re too late. It’s been building, but 2017 is officially the year of the con man/woman. They are the coolest characters to center a story around, as they continually provide endless hijinks, plot lines, and mischief for the characters to get themselves into. And more times than not, they add up to a lot of fun.
Perhaps it is a reflection of our times, with many people feeling like they were politically conned, that they want to understand, to delver deeper into the mind of a con artist. On the flip side, there is something so satisfying about feeling sly — watching people who move with an ease and a confidence through the world while ripping off nearly everyone they come into contact with. It’s the wigs, it’s the stacks of cash, and it’s the charming lies that make this world feel so utterly sexy.
Through these shows we find ourselves rooting for the bad guys and gals. We want them to slip past their latest mark, to get away with their plan, and to not be caught. It feels like we’re rooting for the underdog, even though many times quite the opposite is true. Of course, it is even sweeter when the person being conned isn’t so nice themselves.
Don’t let yourself get conned on this one: these are the shows you’re going to want to watch every second of.
Sneaky Pete
The Amazon original series Sneaky Pete, which debuted earlier this month, is garnering a ton of buzz. Giovanni Ribisi leads a fantastic cast that includes Margo Martindale and Bryan Cranston (who also serves as a creator and executive producer). The show is not simply about a man who assumes the identity of a pal still locked up in prison. There are themes about relationships, family dynamics, and of course moral dilemmas aplenty. Sneaky Pete’s strength is that it keeps you on your toes about who people truly are, why they make the decisions they make, and who is really getting hurt in any given scenario. It keeps you guessing, intrigued, and invested in the characters, no matter who they say they are.
Good Behavior
TNT is back in the con artist game after being the home of Leverage for 5 seasons. Good Behavior premiered in November 2016, with a second season pickup announced earlier this month, and stars Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery as our con woman at hand. As soon as her character Letty is released from prison, she’s right back to her lying and stealing ways, with her eye on the prize of gaining custody of her son. Of course, things become much more complicated for her, and much more fun for viewers.
Imposters
You’ve seen the promos during Real Housewives, so you know Bravo’s getting into the scripted business in a big way. Their new series Imposters, premiering Tuesday, February 7th, is different from anything you’re used to seeing on this channel, in the best way. As star Parker Young explains of the show, “It’s a dark comedy about a chick (Inbar Lavi as Maddie) who’s a con artist. She marries a guy, falls in love and a couple months later she disappears, changes her identity and takes all his money. I play one of the dudes that this happened to and I’m looking for her. In my journey I stumble on this guy and we become a team and we have no money so we become con artists ourselves and attempt to track down this bitch.” Young’s Richard teams up with Ezra, played by Rob Heaps who had this to say of the dimensionality of the series: “There are so many genres within it. It’s just so rich in terms of everything it has to offer. The storylines are very different in terms of the tone of them. Our storyline feels really fresh, these people that are thrust into this situation that they didn’t predict, couldn’t prepare for and they are having to learn all these new skills and are changing along the way, that’s more of the more relatable side.” They’re right: it’s slick, fun, and mysterious while following the undoing of relationships, at the same time new ones are created. You can get a first look at the show here.
Now, this is just a small sampling of the current con shows available. Better Call Saul returns for it’s third season this spring on AMC with Bob Odenkirk’s Jimmy as one of TV’s all-time greatest con men. USA jumped on the con man trend back in 2009 with White Collar, which ran for 6 seasons, and starred Matt Bomer as a white collar criminal using his illegal skills for good in order to catch fellow white collar bad guys. While only lasting for two seasons, FX tried out the con with The Riches, a very dark comedy featuring an entire family of con-ers. Plus, if you enjoy your thieves with a British accent, Hustle ran on BBC One for 8 seasons, proving that there remains no shortage of sleek stealers on TV.
