In the age of streaming services, there is no end to content being put out there. With that endless stream of content, there are bound to be repetitive ideas. This lends to the number of remakes, reboots, prequels, and sequels that seem to run rampant these days. However, another category appears to be making much headway in the cinema stratosphere: the docudrama.
These “based on real events” stories have been crowding the home page on every streaming site, and their trailers seem to be everywhere. From Hulu's Inventing Anna and The Dropout to Netflix's The Tinder Swindler to Peacock's Joe vs. Carole, docudramas are making headlines and delivering high ratings across the board. But are these “true” stories as real as they claim?
The Obsession with “Real”
It would be no surprise if one were to take in the amount of this season’s dramas based on real-life that Hollywood is loving the attention docudramas are getting. This growing infatuation seems to be the green light for streaming services like Hulu, whose original content is largely based on true stories. But why the obsession? Why put effort into a story that someone could just Google instead of producing an original property?
The answer is actually quite simple: People are incredibly curious. People are always curious about things, especially when it is none of their business, whether it's a nosy neighbor or rubbernecker on the highway. It’s deeply ingrained to want to know the juicy tidbits of important peoples’ lives, make them more human, and even live vicariously through the eyes of these people who lead exciting lives. It’s why there’s a love for Instagram and paparazzi always have a job. Docudramas are giving this to every individual with a screen and allowing them to immerse themselves into all the scandal they could ever dream of. And what makes it better? It’s all true! Well…most of it.
The Issue with “Real”
When it comes to telling a true story, there are always hang-ups. Research needs to be done for factual reasons as well as legal ones. Interviews, testimonials, all of it needs to be done to create a narrative. Actors must be cast for their ability and talent and their resemblance to the real people the stories are about. But no matter how close the actors look to the actual characters or how factual the information for the show is, it could still come across as bland and hollow, even exploitative. This is where creative license comes into play.
All movies and shows are formulaic in nature, and as Amanda Mannen states in her Cracked article, “real life rarely fits into a kind of neat three-act structure with clear heroes, villains, and wacky sidekicks.” Due to this, creators give themselves leeway in the wording of their epitaph, usually using words like “inspired by” or, in the case of Inventing Anna, “this whole story is completely true…except for the parts that are totally made up.” Wording like this is what makes the end product so bingeable. It allows writers to put in a single moment of inspiration that changes the course of the lead's life or write in a love story that more than likely never occurred. In short, it allows them to make the boring cinematic. These intimate moments seen on-screen, like a look of realization and a breakdown, create an emotional connection. This connection, along with the curiosity mentioned before, makes for higher ratings and tons of media coverage.
The Upcoming Roster
With so many docudramas already making household names for themselves, it's no surprise there are even more to come. Hulu, NBC, and AppleTV+ are just a few streaming services with slotted release dates for their “true” story tales.
The Thing About Pam, which premiered March 8th, is the story of the real-life murder of Betsy Faria and Pam Hupp, a life insurance administrator who was charged. Pam is portrayed by two-time Oscar winner Renée Zellweger, who absolutely disappears in this role. Unrecognizable, Zellweger is joined by an incredible cast, including Josh Duhamel and Judy Greer.
WeCrashed, which stars Jared Leto fresh off his House of Gucci role, covers the life of the Israeli hard-partying co-founder of WeWork, Adam Neumann. The series will showcase Neumann’s work and how his business became quite the talk around the water-cooler before crashing after a failed IPO attempt. Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway joins Leto, playing Neumann’s wife, Rebekah Neumann, who was the chief brand and impact officer at WeWork. WeCrashed is set to begin on March 18th on Apple TV+.
In the Meantime
While waiting for these shows, along with others set to drop this year, audiences who love a good “true” story can check out many options across the streaming-verse. Inventing Anna, which streams on Netflix, paints the story of conwoman Anna Sorokin. In the 8-episode limited series, the viewer is taken along with Manhattan journalist Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky) as she delves into the scandal that took New York’s elite for all they had, and no one was none the wiser. The series has earned a lot of buzz and showcases an extraordinary Julia Garner as the title role.
Although only in the third episode of its run, The Dropout has critics raving and with good reason. Amanda Seyfried stars as the disgraced entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, whose supposed revolutionary business was meant to change the face of medical care. In the end, Holmes ended up on trial and was charged with criminal fraud. The series can be viewed on Hulu, and new episodes are out every Wednesday.