4 hit TV shows inspired by podcasts and magazine articles, from Netflix’s Inventing Anna to Hulu’s Pam & Tommy and The Dropout – about Elizabeth Holmes’ journey from billionaire to fraudster
- Netflix hit Inventing Anna is based on fake heiress Anna Sorokin while Hulu’s Pam & Tommy focuses on Pamela Anderson – both are adapted from popular magazine articles
- Jessica Pressler, who penned the article that gave rise to Inventing Anna, also broke the story that inspired the Jennifer Lopez-produced movie Hustlers
And like many chart-topping programmes, Inventing Anna’s story brings a magazine article to life. While this is hardly a new trend (The Fast and The Furious and Top Gun were both based on magazine articles), it’s proving to be a winning formula for viewers.
We take you through the popular programmes based on magazine articles and investigative podcasts.
1. Inventing Anna
Pressler’s article forms the basis of the television series, which chronicles the rise and fall of Sorokin, who portrayed herself as a German heiress to New York’s high society and swindled an estimated US$275,000 from friends, hotels and businesses.
But Pressler is no stranger to on-screen adaptations. In 2019, her article “The Hustlers at Scores”, about a group of strippers who stole money from bankers and C-suite executives, was adapted into the film Hustlers starring Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu.
2. Pam & Tommy
Chronicling the aftermath of a stolen sex tape and the impact it had on the lives of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, Pam & Tommy is based on “The Untold Story of the World’s Most Famous Sex Tape”, a Rolling Stone article by Amanda Chicago Lewis.