Light spoilers ahead about the premise of the Netflix show, Dirty John. No plot points though, promise!
DIRTY JOHN IS the latest in a slew of true-crime Netflix drops that has audiences well and truly shook.
Can’t see the video? Click here.
Based on the podcast of the same name, Dirty John follows the true life tale of Debra, played by Connie Britton, a woman on the quest for luuuuuuuuuurve. She soon meets – seemingly – the man of her dreams in John Meehan, played by Eric Bana, on an online dating app.
A few things about Debra, before we continue: she is obscenely rich, oddly naive, and almost childlike in her decision-making, to the point where you will be infuriated watching/listening.
John is a paint-by-numbers true crime creep – manipulative, seedy with an unfathomable past that’s uncovered far too late for their to be a succinct, happy ending.
As a show, the series has been compared to the likes of HBO’s Big Little Lies, and it seems to be going down well with viewers so far.
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
However, there’s also been a good bit of chat on whether the show stands up to the original podcast in terms of quality. Some fans aren’t convinced:
Dirty John the podcast was very good but one episode in and Dirty John the Netflix show is poor poor poor.”
Understandable – while Britton and Bana’s performances have both been praised, the supporting actors’ performances have been criticised. Netflix’s Dirty John has also faced criticism over how much more highly dramatised it is in comparison to the podcast and the true life events its based upon. But that’s to be expected, right? It’s a TV show, after all.
Hmmm. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting turn of events whereby we’re comparing podcasts to their screen-adaptions, as opposed to books.
So which did you prefer?
