Inventing Anna has divided audiences and the E! News offices.
We have covered Anna Delvey's crimes since her conviction in 2019, when a jury found her guilty of attempted grand larceny in the first degree, grand larceny in the second degree, grand larceny in the third degree and theft of services. So, when we learned that Shonda Rhimes had acquired the rights to Jessica Pressler's New York magazine article about the fake German heiress with the intention of creating a TV series, a lot of us were thrilled.
Pressler's lengthy feature was ripe with details about the mysterious and charismatic Anna, whose real surname is actually Sorokin. She provided the names of the hotels that sued Anna, conjured images of the A-list parties she attended and included interviews with some of the people who knew the convicted fraudster. In other words, it was meticulously reported and well-written.
But does the 10-part Netflix series match the quality of the reporting? Well, that we can't agree on. Continue reading for two very different takes on this series.
It's bad—Cydney Contreras
My main problem with Inventing Anna is not the acting, nor is it Julia Garner's accent, surprisingly enough. Rather, I find myself frustrated by the fact that it's fictional journalist Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky) telling the story of this fake German heiress, who was the real-life subject of the thoroughly reported and well-written Cut article "How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People."
The piece was a fascinating introduction to Anna, a foreign-born and intelligent person with the goal of opening her own social club á la Soho House. But the Cut article was just an introduction. With 10 episodes and, presumably, millions of dollars at their disposal, I expected Shonda to expand upon the work of Jessica Pressler and illustrate the true extravagance of Anna's crimes in a way that a written piece cannot.
But in the first episode, it became clear that wasn't going to happen. There's no real exploration of who Anna is, or why she has that bizarre accent. Instead, we're presented with Vivian, a pregnant journalist jaded by the dog eat dog world of print media. She becomes fascinated by the tale of the fraudster, rather rudely begging her editor to take a chance on this story.
Once given the green light, she digs deeper into the case but is frustrated by the lack of answers—until her older colleagues lend a helping hand. In fact, it seems everyone is giving Vivian handouts, even Anna's own defense attorney. This was annoying, not because I don't believe in teamwork, but because Vivian is so intent on proving that she's a good and ethical journalist after a past article was smeared by the media. So, having her co-workers, husband and defense attorneys do the work for her doesn't make me sympathetic to her cause in the slightest.
Another aspect that drove me nuts was the overall appearance of the show. While Shonda is known to lean into the moody lighting and appearances of soaps, this story deserved a touch more refinement seeing as the characters are wearing Prada and carrying Hermes Birkins. The dull backdrops did nothing to transport me to the world of luxury and glamour, it just made me feel like I was on a fake set.
And as I said before, I have no problem with the acting. I actually think Julia Garner is incredibly talented, as is Succession's Arian Moayed. But there's such a focus on Vivian and the people around Anna, that we have no chance to really sit with these characters, who are arguably the more fascinating subjects.
Inventing Anna had so much potential, but it fell flat with its surface-level storytelling.
It's good—Alyssa Ray
I have two words for you: Julia Garner. The Ozark actress is once again proving that a tough accent won't stand in the way of her giving a noteworthy performance. In result, Julia is so eerily convincing as fake German heiress Anna Delvey that I sometimes forget it is her in Inventing Anna.
Between the expensive wardrobe and the can't-f--k-with-me attitude, Julia is captivating on-screen, inspiring this TV Editor to binge Inventing Anna in two days time. Still, a good show is more than just its leading lady. So I turn my attention to the rest of cast, filled with Shondaland regulars we've come to know and love, including Grey's Anatomy's Kate Burton and Scandal stars Katie Lowes and Jeff Perry.
The familiarity of these performers makes it easy to jump right into the story, as they bring veteran comedic timing and a flair for drama to the show.
Yet it's Veep alum Anna Chlumsky that I've most enjoyed, as she has spent the season in an epic cat-and-mouse game with Julia's Anna. Through Anna's Vivian, a disgraced journalist trying to save her reputation with a new story, we learn about Anna's wild con, see how far she is willing to go and wonder if she really believes her lies.
In a way, Vivian is meant to embody the viewer at home, who is still trying to piece together the sometimes unbelievable case that broke all those years ago.
And it is important to remember that this isn't one of Netflix's true crime docuseries, it's a Shonda Rhimes drama, so we aren't supposed to get all of the cold hard facts of the case. We're following a tried and true formula, which includes outburst-inspired monologues, plenty of confrontation and a main character you can't help but root for, even when they've done terrible things. (Here's looking at you Meredith Grey, Olivia Pope and Annalise Keating!) Shonda is an expert at playing up the drama, and she's doing just that by taking some storytelling liberties in Inventing Anna.
Is the show perfect? No. Frankly, they could've trimmed the season down to a tight five episodes. But that doesn't mean I'm not having a blast when it comes to dissecting each one.
It's a ridiculous and campy show that's created a unique TV viewing experience.