#Julia garner dirty john series

#Julia garner dirty john series

Once the story has gone from “true” to “based on true,” it’s better to evolve the material dramatically to suit the strength of the medium, since every iteration past the black-and-white of a print story adds its own contrivances and each contrivance runs the risk of making the story more conventional.īecause nobody was willing to take any aesthetic risks in attacking this story, the selling point for Dirty John as a TV series is the casting and even then you have to debate if it’s actually a good thing that the assembled actors are “better than the real thing.” Britton exudes vulnerability and more than in the articles or podcasts, she’s able to foreground Debra’s intelligence and make her romantic misstep feel like something other than misguided neediness. The changes Cunningham has made to the real story are cosmetic - Debra’s eldest daughter is actually named Jacquelyn, while Terra’s unhealthy fascination with The Walking Dead, utterly essential to the arc of the story, has just become a more generic fascination with the idea of a zombie apocalypse - and my instinct is that they probably should have been more widespread. This will prove to be a bad idea, because John is a dangerous con man and he’s about to turn Debra’s life upside down. Sure, the red flags with John begin popping up before the end of their first date and sure, Debra’s daughters immediately distrust the man their mother has quickly become involved with, but John listens and seems to understand when he’s made mistakes and Debra appreciates that. Despairing at the type of men she’s finding on dating apps, Debra latches onto the apparent candor of John Meehan ( Eric Bana), an anesthesiologist who makes her laugh. In business, Debra has been wildly successful, allowing her to raise her daughters (Juno Temple’s Veronica and Julia Garner’s Terra) in superficial opulence, but she has been less successful in love, with four failed marriages.

Connie Britton plays Debra Newell, a Southern California interior designer. Through the first three Dirty John episodes, Alexandra Cunningham has transferred Christopher Goffard’s reporting fairly literally. In its place, I can’t point to much insight or advantage added by the new medium. But then, Dan hires Linda (Keller), a bright, beautiful young woman.This isn’t to say that Bravo’s limited series adaptation of the Los Angeles Times podcast (and article series) Dirty John is awful, just that in the transition from “I can’t believe that’s real!” source material to “Aren’t Tami Taylor and the Incredible Hulk giving solid performances?” some of the essential vitality and veracity of the material has been lost. He ultimately becomes a superstar in the San Diego legal community and Betty can finally enjoy the fruits of their labors. She sacrifices and suffers for years while supporting Dan through both medical and law school. Married to her handsome college boyfriend, Dan (Slater), Betty charms everyone she meets. Betty (Peet) was the perfect Southern California blonde wife and mother. Season two of the anthology series follows a shocking story of love, betrayal, and death that’s based on the lives of Betty and Dan Broderick. As Debra is drawn deeper into his lies and psychological manipulation, horrific events unfold. With a troubled family history, the backstory of Debra and her mother Arlane (Smart) provides insight into why she may have been so vulnerable to John’s charms. The tension leaves the girls no choice but to investigate the stranger their mother adores.

When she finally meets charming and handsome doctor John Meehan (Bana), Debra is quickly swept off her feet - much to the dismay of her daughters, Terra (Julia Garner) and Veronica (Juno Temple). Unfortunately, this middle age lady doesn’t have love. She seemingly has a perfect life in Newport Beach, a very desirable coastal city in California.

Debra Newell (Britton) is both beautiful and successful. In the first season, a romance spirals into a web of secrets, denial, and manipulation with horrific consequences for a family.

The series was created and written by Alexandra Cunningham. Performers include: Connie Britton, Eric Bana, Juno Temple, Julia Garner, Jean Smart, Amanda Peet, Christian Slater, and Rachel Keller with Missi Pyle, Emily Bergl, Holley Fain, Lena Georgas, Tiera Skovbye, and Chris Mason.Ī scripted true crime anthology series, Dirty John is based on a podcast of the same name by Christopher Goffard. TV show dates: November 25, 2018 - present