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Is American Vandal real? If you’ve Googled that question since getting sucked into Netflix’s true crime satire series, you’re not alone. The thing is, the show is so well done, sometimes it’s hard to tell if American Vandal is in fact a true story.
American Vandal is a real, 8-episode show that exists, yes. But ultimately, no, it is not a real documentary. It is a fictional series, filled with really great young actors (who you can find out more about here), and a fictional case at hand. Now, that’s not to say school pranks aren’t real, because we all know they are, and it wouldn’t be surprising if some copycats emerged after binge-watching this series. In other words, let’s hope you don’t get a dick drawn on your car anytime soon (especially you, teachers).
So is the Netflix original series even based on a true story? Well, kinda! As showrunner Dan Lagana told Splitsider, “I have a 17-year-old stepson, and when he was a freshman in high school he was accused of vandalizing an art project at school with a large phallic image. He didn’t do it but he got suspended for it. I remember sitting in the principal’s office, just boiling with fury over the injustice of it, and there was no way to prove his innocence. I told the creators that story and from that day forward we were a three-headed monster, which I was very, very excited about.”
Creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault worked on projects for the likes of CollegeHumor and Funny or Die, and are admitted fans of the true crime genre, especially inspired by fellow Netflix series Making A Murderer, which is the perfect combination for making American Vandal feel like such a true story. Not everyone can make penis drawings feel so serious and so silly at the same time. They knew exactly how to get so detailed, how to chase every possible suspect and motivation, and how to leave the ending just a little bit open-ended for the viewer to make their own decision on who did the crime, that it’s nearly impossible not to wonder if American Vandal was real or fake. The show is real good, but it’s not actually real…for now.
