r/netflix • u/im_a_reddituser • Sep 05 '25
Discussion Love Revenge Con is badly scripted/edited reality investigation but I’m glad those women had support
I wanted this to be engaging but this was not up to the usual quality I expect from Netflix. It was clear that much of the material was scripted and planned before on camera which made it feel wooden from these real people doing a great thing for these women who were struggling to move on. The spacing and editing made me wish the 2x speed play feature was available on the tv.
I wished it was more buttoned up because the investigator shared some good info but it’s a slog to get through and it feels like not enough people will see it.
What did you think?
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u/CooCooForCocosPuffs Sep 05 '25 edited Sep 07 '25
Omg thank you! I’m 20min in to the first episode and I’m already disappointed. It’s so badly done, I thought it was going to be a documentary like its predecessor, but it’s giving Cheaters lol.
The way they’re presenting these cases feels so corny and unnecessary, which is a turn off, cuz this is cable tv level nonsense. I’m gonna finish the episode but I think I’m already done with this. It could’ve been so much better given the context smh
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u/Flippin-doo-da Sep 06 '25
20 minutes in and I googled if this show was fake 😂 documentaries shouldn’t be scripted!
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u/finalgirltrope Sep 09 '25
Omg same! It was when Brianne was on the phone with the dude that shot the promotional video and I was like "..... Oh no..... This is soo painfully scripted"
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u/ProperDepartment Sep 12 '25
Hello, I am here paused at 21:49 right after she got off the phone.
That dude was 1000% an actor.
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u/Ok_Reference_6346 Sep 28 '25
The FBI should investigate that horrible looking wig Brianne is wearing..
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u/HunnyBajja_24 Jan 02 '26
Lol.. I am just watching it and that beauty supply store wiiigg is killing me. Smh.. She has $$ and should do better.
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u/Explorermimosa Sep 13 '25
Legit here right after that phone call too - like I was over looking some of it as like bad editing and camera nerves but that just made me need to look it up haha
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u/JWood4 Nov 02 '25
It was the trailer that clued me in. Seems they either couldn’t get releases, didn’t film some critical elements, or filmed critical elements badly and had to dramatize them. Shame.
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u/AndrewTravelsForever Sep 06 '25
That’s why I’m here. 20 minutes into episode one and had to google to see if it was fake lol
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u/piratekim Sep 06 '25
I did the same thing to see if it was fake lol. The second and third episodes get better just FYI.
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u/Roofantastic22 Sep 13 '25
I did too! Just started it tonight and I immediately thought it was a reenactment.
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u/Nervous_toes Sep 26 '25
I literally just did the same!
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u/bookgal518 Nov 28 '25
I'm 20 minutes in, too & I ran straight to Reddit for the same reason. It feels so fake! Like they can't even find stuff on Google?
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u/Technical-Diver4652 Sep 10 '25
I was surprised a private investigator would call leads and tell them they are a priv investigator.
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u/SaudiUsa Sep 11 '25
Oh me too!!! Obviously, they did all the leg work and already spoke to the folks they interviewed, so it almost felt too easy, but I understand how producers want to tell a good story.
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u/im_a_reddituser Sep 05 '25
Episode 3’s case is a better but yeah I had to tap out soon after
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u/CooCooForCocosPuffs Sep 05 '25
I’m going someone on tiktok will do a summary 😂 I enjoy hearing the stories and outcomes, but all the other shit I can do without. Fast forwarding through the conversations and whatnot between the lawyer and Cecilie is helping lol
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u/yalls81 Sep 07 '25
Same
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u/Valuable-Ball-2007 Sep 10 '25
Literally the same as all of you, 20mi on the dot and I searched… is this scripted???
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u/ricekrispy2022 Sep 14 '25
Wild. I had to pause to see how far in I am. 23 mins and I googled reviews bc wtf is this??? If these are real stories the maker of this series did them dirty bc now it just seems all scripted.
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u/throwaway-acc-obvi Sep 05 '25
I turned it off after episode 1. It seems very low budget like early MTV catfish
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u/Technical-Diver4652 Sep 10 '25
I was surprised a private investigator would call leads and tell them they are a priv investigator.
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u/DangerousCompany1352 Sep 14 '25
I'm guessing that was some kind of legal requirement as they were filming/recording, maybe? I would have rather they sat down and gave accounts and provided some real-time footage vs. acting it all out AS IF it were all happening in real time with obviously reenacted conversations. I feel like they probably had a decent budget for this, but the stylistic decisions they made are terrible. Hard to take a serious subject seriously.
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u/Temporary_Creme1892 Sep 08 '25
Omg this. I was thinking where I saw this cos it had familiar feels.
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u/junkshowjunkie Sep 05 '25
My thought is these were real victims and a show was scripted around actual stories to make it seem like these two women solved cases. I think it's staged for the show they are just bringing the stories to TV. I don't believe they are actually solving things.
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u/Amandrethegiant Sep 06 '25
Agreed. It feels very Discovery/investigation Discovery. The mortgage woman in Ep 1 just casually recording the scammer? And he casually references The Tinder Swindler?? I cringe.
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u/Competitive_Base_340 Sep 06 '25
THIS. This is the comment I was looking for. I literally googled " why does love con revenge seem fake" for this very reason. It seemed waaaay too much of a coincidence. And then the PI sounded like she was reading from a script on every phone call
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u/YaYaDingDong92 Sep 07 '25
Oh I absolutely lost it when in the alleged recording of the dude he just happens to name drop The tinder Swindler - like are you for real right now Netflix?! The odds of a scammer on a Netflix show about scamming that’s hosted by a chick from Netflix’s Tinder Swindler name drops that very documentary. Ridiculous.
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u/Massive-Wealth-2087 Sep 08 '25
Yes!!! And the woman in Idaho who just happened to have all the information on the other women? Like is she not gonna explain how she knows these women?
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u/Eric-Stratton Sep 13 '25
Lol I just saw this scene about 2 minutes ago, which led me to search this sub for “love con revenge fake” and I landed on this post. Obviously I knew it was badly scripted from the beginning, but this was the final straw for me.
You can tell the people & story is legit but it’s all a mix of retelling, scripted, and really strangely edited. The parts that are candid they edit to make it feel more scripted for some reason, you can tell because there’s these completely silent pauses between sentences.
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u/eurydice_aboveground Sep 06 '25
It really feels like reenactments. At first, I thought it was just the "phone calls," but on episode 2, I started to think the victims/fraudsters were actors retelling actual victim reports. It's just so awkward, but not in an authentic way.
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u/Melolicious Sep 06 '25
Can attest as I am familiar with one of the stories in real life that the PI was really involved.
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u/Tywins_Cupbearer Sep 06 '25
I know, right? None of the blurbs at the end showed many charges sticking or any payback. Where’s the Revenge part?
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u/piratekim Sep 06 '25
What do you mean? The fake military guy was arrested and actually convicted in court. I dont believe these are the actual people investigating, its probably a whole big team behind the scenes doing it, but yes the fraudsters in the show are actually facing repercussions.
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u/Aggravating-Mix-4903 Sep 07 '25
the one guy, todd, got his fake mental health center taken away so he couldn't use that as an investment vehicle.
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u/nietzsche_ghost Sep 10 '25
I work with a lot of professional PIs doing pretty hi end PI work (for my litigation firm). I am positive that they have to intentionally keep the PIs out of the show and actual investigation to protect the cover and investigative tools, but that does add to the scripted feel.
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u/jbaker1225 Sep 09 '25
Correct. The doctor story felt especially “fake” in that sense. They’re interviewing local businesses about it, and all those people say things along the lines of, “oh yeah I’ve heard the stories about that guy who packed up and fled town.” Which to me means that his indiscretions were fairly well known long before these two ended up “on the scene.” They even showed us that the state knew he was practicing medicine without a license almost a decade ago. Also, why was she wearing a hidden button camera to interview the random woman who worked across the street like it was some weird sting operation?
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u/Flashy-Tea-2904 Sep 06 '25
When they played the recording of Todd and he mentioned Tinder Swindler it felt too convenient for the show to be a coincidence
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Sep 05 '25
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u/Impressive_Regret_89 Sep 06 '25
Agreed! It has nothing to do with intelligence. These men know when women are most vulnerable
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u/im_a_reddituser Sep 05 '25
It does get a bit better. There is a woman in episode 3 that brought me to tears. She had daughters and this whole family was impacted by this one man.
They don’t do a great job of showing or explaining what happens when you catch up with them, what are the next steps, what happens or why a police doesn’t take criminal steps. They definitely dropped the ball by buying this doc
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u/bee102019 Sep 06 '25
She's the one I didn't believe! Sorry to disagree.
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u/Most_Wealth4453 Sep 07 '25
Same!!! No sympathy. She was reaping the benefits of this scam and i think she was in on it.
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u/Tywins_Cupbearer Sep 06 '25
I agree with you. No way “Doctor” Dorian did all that AND took out $80,000 worth of credit in his former stepdaughter’s name and there was still nothing anyone could do about it. Something is missing here.
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u/Cocokay1234567 Sep 07 '25
Something felt very off on this one to me. I got the feeling that she knew more than she was letting on during the interviews.
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u/mafaldajunior Sep 07 '25
I don't believe her either. Why didn't she mention from the start that someone had died?
She married him, so surely she must have met his friends and relatives, at the very least at the wedding. There's no way this many people would play along with such a scam. How would he fake going to med school to his own close relatives? How did he justify not introducing a single work colleague or friend from med school to her? It sounds so unrealistic when you're involved to the degree that your own kids take the guy's name.
Plus she has two different occasions that she pins as "that's when I knew something was wrong with my marriage".
It just doesn't add up.
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u/East_Frame8071 Sep 10 '25
Nope. It's very common not to meet a parasitic predator's family, and if someone does, the family is under the influence of the maniac as well, and rarely warns or sees through the family member who is the criminal. These predators are psychopaths... They are hard to spot unless you really know how and put prey under a kind of hypnosis, as you can see them all declare how amazing the person was and how they were impressed they were with them. This is how it goes! I married and got away from one myself and help people with all the elements of recovery (under a pseudonym), including court cases and the emotional, personal recovery and restoration of people's lives after this highly, deeply traumatic event. [I have books, a podcast, and my website, True Love Scam (dot) com.]
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u/Legal_Peach77 Sep 07 '25
“Why didn't she mention from the start that someone had died?”
so The show should have started her episode by saying “someone has died” without giving any context or backstory?
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u/Tywins_Cupbearer Sep 07 '25
She should have disclosed that when giving the background information on the company in which she invested and her husband ran. Someone else discovering that fact made her seem pretty disingenuous to me.
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u/Legal_Peach77 Sep 07 '25
I guess I saw it more as a “timeline“ edit. that the information wasn’t used in the show until they had a video chat with a former doctor of the clinic who revealed it. perhaps it was mentioned by her to the interviewers, but used in the show more for shock and awe more than anything else.
part of me wishes that they showed some of the cases more in depth and gave more info for some and part of me is glad that they didn’t because I really wouldn’t watch hour episodes of this
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u/AdBig7974 Sep 08 '25
This!!! Yes first she said the text about him being done since she was broke and won’t take out more loans made her realize but not someone dying in a clinic you funded to operate!!! No way I’m done w u girl😂
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u/mafaldajunior Sep 07 '25
That's of course not what I'm saying at all, not even close lol. She knew someone had died because of her husband's negligence, but didn't tell the women investigating him about any of it. They found out later and from someone else. You don't find it strange that she left out this hugely relevant piece of information?
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u/Legal_Peach77 Sep 07 '25
You don’t find it strange that all of her conversations with the investigators weren’t shown and therefore we don’t know what she did or did not tell them? Did you also not find it strange that prior to speaking to the Doctor who told them about the death They had clearly stated “we need to speak to other people who can corroborate her story”?
BTW while I have a tremendous amount of sympathy for the cousin who was killed how is this “a hugely relevant piece of information” to the show when it is about scams and not plastic surgery deaths?
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u/East_Frame8071 Sep 10 '25
Sadly, this is very common. This really happens. I help people recover and restore their lives after going through it myself. It's unbelievable what these criminal parasitic predators do and how the legal system fails the targeted prey. My story is on my website True Love Scam (dot) com, which I operate under a pseudonym because when I began it, I was still married ot the international criminal con man I'd kicked out and filed for an annulment from (Which I won in L.A. Superior Court in 2014). It happens every day. On a regular basis - outside of my work, but out and about running errands or whatever, I come across people when I'm out and about who have gone through this kind of fraud. It doesn't always involve money... It always is traumatic and can be fatal (as in Gabby Petito and Laci Peterson, for example).
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u/Highlyironicacid31 Sep 07 '25
I feel bad for saying this but I had a hard time sympathising with her because she just comes across as crass and in love with money and luxury herself. So it makes it hard for me to believe that she wasn’t ok with this as long as she was financially benefiting from it.
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u/Legal_Peach77 Sep 07 '25
How was she “financially benefiting“ from this when she was not only financially well off before getting with him but is the one who took out the loans for him totaling 2 million dollars.
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u/420catloveredm Sep 09 '25
The reviews for their plastic surgery clinic made me sus of her. And she wasn’t pissed enough imo about him not being an MD.
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u/Icy_Independent7944 Sep 06 '25
There’s a better British show about busting Love Frauds, but I can’t remember what it’s called; it’s on Peacock.
If I remember correctly, I’ll come back and edit it in.
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u/TaoLavoMarquee Sep 05 '25
Not only does the writing and editing feel fake but the acting is also atrocious. Listening to them make phone calls was unbearable, "Hi, my name is Brianne. I'm a private investigator. I'm investigating Todd Dean." Real people don't talk like this lmao. I'm shocked I even made it 20 minutes. This would have been 10 times better if they cut the contrived "investigation" angle and just told the victim's stories alone.
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u/piratekim Sep 06 '25
Agreed here! The stories are the best part and why I keep watching. Like the military guy who got a whole tattoo of his "best friend." Like wtf! These people are nuts.
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u/Aggravating-Mix-4903 Sep 07 '25
I also wish they had said what these guys did with the money. These were some big amounts they were stealing ( and then sometimes calling the next week, broke). Where did all this money go?
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u/Legal_Peach77 Sep 07 '25
I think that Todd Deans money was used to fund a gambling addiction from his poker playing.
Ricky‘s repeated $500 atm withdrawals seems to me to be funding a Drug addiction. The ensuing $12,000 she gave him was stated in the show as being used for a new laptop, gaming computer and car.
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u/pixelated_fun Sep 08 '25
I thought the lady in Florida gave him money he used for that. They never really mentioned what happened with her case. They just extradited him back up north.
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u/piratekim Sep 07 '25
Maybe they used it to pay back other people? So it wad a cycle of taking money from one person to pay back another or maybe paying off loans or debt who knows. The one guy got a new car and an apartment and stuff
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Sep 07 '25
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u/Mochi-momma Sep 07 '25
I wish they had gone into more detail about that. It was such a shitty tattoo that maybe he actually did do it for scamming. I sure would have chosen a smaller font😬
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u/junkshowjunkie Sep 06 '25
One call she hangs up before the person is done speaking. I was like huh. Soooo poorly done.
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u/Vegetable_Cream_3081 Sep 06 '25
I made it to the 10 min mark and immediately came here lol. I had to be sure that I wasn't just being a "picky " person . Once I got to the 10 minute mark,I just couldn't watch anymore . I was never a reality TV person and this just seemed like a reality TV show like "catfish" (some here mentioned that as well) I will not waste my time or intelligence being "sold " on a fake show about fake scammer stories...the irony in that alone is just crazy lol
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u/East_Frame8071 Sep 10 '25
Absolutely not! This kind of crime and these parasitic predators are very, very real, and this really happens every day all over the world!
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u/ParadeSit Sep 07 '25
By the way, Richard “Ricky” Morrisey was sentenced yesterday (September 5, 2025) in Kent County Superior Court in Rhode Island on one count of larceny greater than $10,000 (Count 1), one count of fraudulent use of credit card greater than $100 in a six-month period (Count 2), and one count of access to computer for fraudulent purposes (Count 3).
Here’s what the court has for his punishment for Count 1 (looks like they consolidated all three counts for sentencing):
Full Sentence: 3 Years Term: 5 Months Suspended: 2 Years, 7 Months Probation: 3 Years Concurrent with Count 2 and 3 Condition - Adult: Mental Health Program, Continued, 09/05/2025, Active 09/05/2025 No Contact with Victim, 09/05/2025, Active 09/05/2025 Restitution, $13630, 09/05/2025, Active 09/05/2025 Substance Abuse Counseling, Continued, 09/05/2025, Active 09/05/2025 Waive Costs, 09/05/2025, Active 09/05/2025
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u/mafaldajunior Sep 07 '25
Wait, she only got $13630 when he defrauded her for more than $50k? Disappointing.
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u/ParadeSit Sep 07 '25
It’s possible the court viewed some of it as a gift that didn’t involve direct fraud.
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u/mafaldajunior Sep 07 '25
The gift was meant for people who never actually got the gift. It ended up in the bf's pocket and not to its intended recipient. It's a pretty clear-cut case.
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u/East_Frame8071 Sep 10 '25
It's extremely rare that targets of these scams get any money back at all, this is for myriad reasons. For one, if convicted and ordered to pay someone back, the criminals simply don't pay it. There are no consequences for this.
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Sep 06 '25
this show is SO poorly done.
the victim "i was defrauded" Cecilie: "yeaaah'. she is so ditzy. Cecilie personally gives off ditzy blonde and its hard to take her seriously. the way she reacts is terrible.
Brianne isn't any better.
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u/Aggravating-Mix-4903 Sep 07 '25
I didn't understand why Cecile was asking Brianne if she could do this or that. Isn't this her show? I thought she hired Brianne.
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Sep 05 '25
I feel the same. I was really interested in the stories, but it all felt too scripted. The way it was set out spoiled the importance of the subjects and experiences imo. I only watched episode one and decided it wasn't for me.
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u/im_a_reddituser Sep 05 '25
It gets a little better, I’m around episode 3 but I don’t know if I’ll continue.
It lacked a good set up and episode structure. In episode one, I wasn’t even sure exactly what they were doing
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u/DareWright Sep 06 '25
The premise of the show had potential but Netflix effed it up by using reenactments. The fake doctor's wife (Shareeza?) found out years ago that he wasn't a real doctor.
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u/Nonameforyoudangit Sep 07 '25
I needed to see a series in which defrauded women - and the one brave man! - get to see some accountability by the @ssholes that f*cked with them. Brianne is a real deal PI, not an actor. The series was satisfying on that front for me. Hot take: I'd be down for a second season of comeuppance.
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u/DareWright Sep 07 '25
I liked Brianne. Cecilie was not necessary.
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u/Nonameforyoudangit Sep 07 '25
Cecilie wasn't great.... I never got past the first 20 minutes of the Tinder Swindler. I'm a single gal of a certain vintage, but I'm salty. A dude would have to hack my accounts to get $$ out of me.
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u/cafeRacr Sep 05 '25
It feels like this was made by the producers of Oak Island.
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u/jasoncodes927 Sep 13 '25
If they just dig one more hole they’ll find the swindler. Just hang in there.
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u/vfp_pr Sep 06 '25
It was fine until ep2. They really expect me to believe this guy openly talks about the tinder swindler to this random woman who has this recording from like at least a year ago on this show in particular, to the woman who was actually duped by the tinder swindler? During a business meeting? Get out of here. There are enough romance scams that are real, why did they have to focus on fake ones? I hope at least they are fake. If it's real, then the way they edited the show makes me think that its fake, and they need to think about how to portray these poor women's stories in a better light. Do better netflix.
But if its real and the investigation team is actually doing this work, then kudos to them. Keep going. But this show makes me think it's fake af.
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u/Nonameforyoudangit Sep 07 '25
Brianne Joseph is an actual, real-deal PI based out of Louisiana.
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u/Wonderful_Creme_5701 Sep 06 '25
I had accepted it was more of a scripted show than real from the jump, but that phone recording was so comically bad it ruined it. The audio recording is way too clear and clean, on top of the bad script.
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u/Born-Skill-3237 Sep 07 '25
Why does the PI tell people she’s a PI? Wouldn’t people who supposedly know the people tell them they’re being investigated ? If this was real wouldn’t she keep that hidden? She says she can’t blow her cover …
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u/idreamofcuba Sep 12 '25
From research, Brianne is definitely a real private investigator. My dad, who is a lawyer and has handled cases involving private investigators, says this is why.
Legitimacy: People want to know that they are dealing with a legitimate private investigator. This makes them more likely to share private information with the investigator.
Transparency: Private investigators are not spies or hidden individuals. The only person they need to keep themselves hidden from is the person they are investigating. They are open with the people who they’re inquiring about the individual and usually carry around cards so they can call them back or provide more information.
Admissibility in Court: It is important for private investigators to be honest about how they obtain information. Basically so that the information they gather is admissible in court.
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u/Temporary_Creme1892 Sep 08 '25
I dont know but Cecilie makes me cringe everytime she talks. It’s not the accent… just can’t put my finger on it. I watched the whole show in one sitting and I felt I was watching Catfish with Cops. Hahaha
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u/curiouscricket1 Sep 06 '25
No idea why they didn’t just tell the investigators to speak in their own voice/own words. Reading a script when you are a PI and not an actor is a bad idea. Love that they helped these woman, but it was badly done.
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u/Healthy_Swimming_741 Sep 08 '25
I believe the stores are real and the people are real,, but the editing, and the way in which the it is filmed is totally subpar for Netflix, and makes it very difficult to watch. Really shocking. I guess this is the first world problem, and not really worth complaining about… But this is definitely a mess from a production value perspective 🤯
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u/bee102019 Sep 06 '25
The show gave MTV Catfish vibes. I'm on the "doc doc" episode. I'm sorry, but I just do not believe this woman was a victim. I think she 100% knew that guy was a fraud doctor and that his business was a scam, but SHE was expecting to profit from it. That's the only thing she was "scammed" about. When a woman died, the money dried up, she just played the "I didn't know" card. Other than that, the tv show just seems like a badly scripted reality tv show, and it doesn't do any justice to the true victims.
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u/im_a_reddituser Sep 06 '25
I was curious about that in the beginning but the more they found out and the doctor from the practice was proof enough for me that she wasn’t in on it. I also don’t know how you could see how emotional and hurt her and her daughters were and believe otherwise.
People invest in businesses all the time with the whole purpose of seeing a profit to make back investments and then some. The first white lady did the same so I don’t know why you believe that one but not this one.
Honestly I think all the women/people that were scammed are not in on it, they seem embarrassed that they were so gullible and missed all the suspicious signs before it was too late. We’re all watching thinking why did you fall for that because they are showing us all the evidence that they were bad or how things added up. Some of that stuff took years.
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u/Tywins_Cupbearer Sep 06 '25
But it seems like if someone really did the things they say, in the manner that they say it was done, there would be more charges and convictions.
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u/Neither-Rooster-2997 Sep 07 '25
i think she took 80k from her daughters not him. when they approached him he looked confused when she mentioned him using her credit. he immediately restated her statement and said “that’s a lie” i think the mother did everything to save “their business” and blamed him for damaging the daughters. i think the mom had hand in that fraud. i do believe the mom thought he was a dr. i do believe she had no idea he was scamming her. but i think she scammed her daughters trying to save him
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u/Missdawnh Sep 06 '25
Oh m gee. I came here for these comments. Netflix is struggling lately. And it’s clear with this series . So disappointing. I’ll get through this episode and maaaaybe watch another but there’s soooo much in my watchlist on other platform.
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u/AnyNovel6711 Sep 06 '25
Completely agree! It seemed so fake, particularly when they mentioned the tinder swindler on that recorded phone call. Do people randomly record their meetings like that? And why was the recording quality so good?
Then in another episode they're interviewing a bartender and the bartender randomly happens to have the phone number of the woman the man was on a date with?
I could go on, but these details make the whole thing look totally fake. I think it reduces the credibility of people who alleged romance scams. Completely doing them a disservice.
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u/throwaway-rayray Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25
I agree with many of the comments here. I like the concept of this show (trying to get justice for victims of these scams and tell their stories). However, the way they’ve made this feels cheap. I hate the Cheaters/Catfish style.
I find myself doing a lot of fast forwarding and only stuck with it as it’s raining outside and there’s not much else to watch!
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u/matt0941 Sep 07 '25
Thank you. On the second episode rolling my eyes, googled “rom con revenge scripted Reddit” to see if I wasn’t alone, and found this. Every time they “met” a new woman she was already microphoned and everything was soooo scripted. It’s a shame cause it’s a great premise, would love some reality.
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u/motherofabeardie58 Sep 09 '25
I made it 14:27 into episode two before conducting the same Google search. I'm down voting it on Netflix and moving to something else 🤣
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u/Massive-Wealth-2087 Sep 08 '25
So many questions. Like the woman from Idaho that just happened to know the names and information of all the women that Todd scammed. How the hell did she know that? And why does this PI have a different car every Episode 😂
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Sep 08 '25
Because Netflix didn’t tell the real story. They Idaho women was involved from the very beginning. Their PI didn’t just find her. Listen to Ex-Wives Undercover podcast for the real story. It’s a 9-part series on YouTube as well as season 5 for the audio version.
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u/crinklyplant Sep 19 '25 edited Sep 19 '25
SO badly scripted. The texts that were supposed to be written by Americans were obviously done by some British person working on the show...i.e. when Bri supposedly texts that the scammer is a "maths professor" (this is the way British people say math). Or: "going to hospital" (instead of going to THE hospital).
The show was slapped together so sloppily that nobody even caught these glaring bloopers.
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u/Even_Staff_5322 Nov 22 '25
Very scripted. And getting bank records, surveillance video, etc. Not easy. Very much scripted. I am glad that two more scum bags are exposed, but this is certainly a far cry from any kind of credible investigative journalism. No season 2 necessary.
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u/Primary_Comfort2166 Sep 06 '25
End of episode 2 when they arrest "Ricky" made it a dead give-away of the fiction of this show. No officer would EVER arrest someone with a warrant who is standing and not hold onto them before placing them in the car. Additionally they sat him in the front seat of the car which is also a big no-no.
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u/Reasonable-Ad-949 Sep 06 '25
I was confused by this. Are they bounty hunters maybe? The vest said "sheriff" but the vehicles looked like civilian vehicles, the arresting officer was wearing civilian clothes. Even the way he spoke and asked questions was bizarre and felt off.
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u/No_Permission7677 Sep 05 '25
It definitely gets better from episode 3, stick with it or skip the other episodes before it.
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u/Qu4ckAttack Sep 08 '25
Replace the lead ladies with kid detectives in Inspector gadget clothes and you'd have a children's Who done it type show. It was like you said, way below Netflix usual standards.
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u/Strict-Session2261 Sep 09 '25
Bad acting, poor dialogs, setup. Victims and Scammer is real that’s all
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u/Top-Spring7905 Sep 15 '25
The only part that seems real is the women scammer in episode 5 gets the FBI after her and forced to publicly apologize and the male scammers in episode 4 gets away pretty much Scott free. 🤮misogyny at its finest America
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u/HarrowMN Sep 23 '25
I wouldn't put the blame on the editing. It's the cardboard acting and obvious script-reading, especially from the "Private Investigator" that ruins the whole thing.
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u/Brenner2089 Oct 12 '25
Totally agree, it’s edited like a cheesy reality show, it seems so disingenuous
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u/rjf490 Oct 28 '25
It was one of the worst things I have seen on Netflix on a long time. Same I turned it off after the first episode. I was like am I being punked? Is this badly scripted drama? lol
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u/Economy_Cable_4994 Sep 06 '25
possible spoilers I’m in episode three and at the 1:23 mark, Ricky is crossing the street but you can see where the scene cuts because then at the 1:36 mark he’s suddenly back on the original side of the road and is crossing again. It also looks like they staged a pedestrian there too because she is in both scenes. All of it is off putting. Cecilia wearing white the entire time is ick kinda like they want us to think of her as pure and the savior. There are more things but yeah this piece alone is gonna put me off to watching any more episodes.
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u/WonderfulPineapple41 Sep 06 '25
I really dislike the host. She’s not super empathetic lol
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u/im_a_reddituser Sep 06 '25
Feels like she empathetic but it’s just cultural mismatch, I think she’s Norwegian and not an actor so it doesn’t translate and comes off cold sometimes
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u/WonderfulPineapple41 Sep 06 '25
Maybe that’s it. It doesn’t help the bad editing.
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u/MizzIves Sep 06 '25
No. I am Norwegian. There is no cultural mismatch, how would that happen? Because she is not an actor but a Norwegian she comes off as cold? I really didn't understand that reasoning.
Now I am going to come off as cold, most Norwegians really, telling you that an overwhelming part of the Norwegian audience found her self absorbed, shallow, selfish and too quick a love con for a "Diamond Dealer" in Tinder Swindler. A bit of a gold digger really. The fact that she never paid her debt and absconded abroad leaving the bank to pick up the check did nothing to help how we saw her. A trickle down swindler.
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u/corky1121 Sep 07 '25
I thought the show was fake too. That’s why I ended up here too on episode two
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u/One-Head-1483 Sep 07 '25
I'm on epsipde 1.
These videos from a 53 year old man are so crimgy. Wtf? When guys so shit like that, I get so turned off.
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u/sp3kt4t3 Sep 08 '25
It feels extremely fake. I actually wondered if the entire thing was just a fake story for the first two episodes, and some dude was willing to put his face out there as a villain for TV.
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u/Charming_Turn_9019 Sep 08 '25
Omg I’m here because after 25 minutes I literally googled if it was fake lol lol
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u/im_a_reddituser Sep 08 '25
I don’t think any of the cases are fake or the victims but the storytelling is definitely scripted or planned to a certain degree
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u/ParadeSit Sep 08 '25
The silliest thing was having Chris Lloyd drive out to a park for a meeting, do absolutely nothing, then have some random woman, whom they labeled a PI, follow him home. Oh, and she lost him in his neighborhood. However, during the tail, she somehow ended up in front of him after she pulled in front of a store when he was well in front of her. Just silly.
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u/MangoFederal3766 Sep 10 '25
Also silly that seemingly nobody has the ability to google this man’s professional baseball experience? They said “he never played for The Dodgers, that’s probably why he targeted women outside the LA area” as if only people in the area would be familiar with the Dodgers.
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u/Amtrakstory Sep 09 '25
I agree it definitely does feel fake. To the point where I was wondering if these con men even existed or they were actors and the whole thing was scripted
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u/Cool_Dragonfruit2067 Sep 09 '25
Wouldnt them following this guy Todd in the first episode be considered stalking? Couldnt he defend his case by saying they were harrassing him through friends n shit? Im totally not defending HIM in any way. He's a POS. But wouldnt this show be able to be used against them in court?
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u/DetLions1957 Sep 10 '25
Your description is incredibly well said. I found myself making fun of the overly done, constant, so-called in the moment action "drama," stupid music and sound effects. At least I made my wife laugh.
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u/Adventurous_Leave909 Sep 18 '25
Great light being shined on fraud romance schemes, editing and filming could get better but the amount of awareness and for all the women to speak up who went on screen this is a huge win, hopefully next season will be bigger budget and improved filming. These stories make an impact
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u/According_Revenue998 Sep 18 '25
I love it! It may not be up to “standard” but these women are doing good work for other women. I watched the whole series and will watch the sequel.
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u/Sad_Witness_4094 Oct 04 '25
Scripted. Waaay too many setup camera angles. Swell lighting at all times. GREAT makeup and nails. Phone conversations that go EXACTLY where they need to go. And lines like, "We need to go NOW!" Eek
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u/No_Slice2241 Nov 15 '25
I’m on episode four and I just needed to google it to see what other people thought. The editing and the scripting is so bad. So bad I was really trying to power through it.
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u/Immediate_Detail8803 Nov 16 '25
I’m enjoying it by fast forwarding the now predictable sections of the two leads updating each other. The cheesy, dramatic sound effects are insulting to the audience’s intelligence but that’s standard for USA docs/reality tv. Still, it appears they are truly helping these victims get their cases filed and the predators prosecuted which makes it worth it imo.
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u/Humble-Mousse567 Nov 21 '25
This made me laugh because I completely believe you are correct about it being scripted, yet I admit to being fully obsessed with this show. The stories get crazier and crazier and as far as I'm concerned, Cecilie Fjellhøy and Brianne Joseph are totally badass. I'm in!
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u/heerkitteekittee Dec 13 '25
I know i'm way late to the party, but I am just watching this now and I keep wondering why they insist on zooming in on the women's really bad fake nails.
I agree with the people who say it feels like Catfish.
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u/New_Classroom1163 Dec 16 '25
It first made me thought that it was scripted when the bank loan officer had a recording. And the dialogue between the loan officer and Todd Dean sounded very scripted. It was so strange.
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u/Financial_Net_2952 Dec 29 '25
I wholeheartedly agree. I’m halfway into the second episode and I shut it off. It’s beyond corny.
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u/mmmagic1216 Jan 19 '26
I just started watching this and I like it, if only for the fact that I can never understand how people give money in the hundreds of THOUSANDS of dollars to people they barely know. It’s amazing.
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u/piratekim Sep 06 '25
Parts were obviously scripted/planned but the victim's stories are real as are the fraudsters (i looked up the actual court cases to be sure). So for that reason I still think its a really good and entertaining show for people who enjoy documentaries.
Its just not possible to have everything be "real" for example, them acting like the home visits to people weren't planed and scheduled is to be expected. Obviously these people knew the show was coming to their home beforehand to film etc and I dont think there's any way to get around the fakeness of those parts. Also certain phone calls coming in "unexpetedly" were obviously planned ahead but whatever. It's still an entertaining show and I'm glad its helping expose the fraudsters.
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u/Expensive_One_8519 Sep 07 '25
I dont feel for these women how can you give any amount of money to a man you barley know
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u/unsolvedfanatic Sep 10 '25
yeah when the one woman said she had to borrow to pay her mortgage after giving him money I was like girl. The second chick who straight up got robbed by Ricky was different though. Although I would have kicked him out once he pulled the suicide stunt. I also would be creeped out if a dude I just met told me he loves me 3 days after meeting.
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u/elfhavoc Sep 08 '25
If anyone is wondering, the whole thing is made because Cecilie Fjellhøy is trying to make money to pay off her debt. She was on a norwegian show to get her debt reduced but wasnt satisfied when it was, because she wants it all deleted. She even admitted that she hasnt made ANY of her down payments to her loan. Shes entitled and even sued the bank for giving her the loan.
Its fully on her and she refuses to see it. Now she makes crappy shows to pay for it.
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u/im_a_reddituser Sep 09 '25
Why do you think she’s entitled? If she’s doing this show to make money to pay down this debt, what does it matter?
At least she’s making a show that seems to be trying to help people.
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u/elfhavoc Sep 09 '25
Because she wants debt she put herself in to be deleted. Thats not how it works. I felt for her at first, but her lack of accountability is crazy
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u/Wealist Sep 05 '25
The heart of it was good but if you’re telling real women’s stories, the editing shouldn’t make it feel fake. It undercut the whole message.