Inventing Anna: Release date, cast, trailer for Netflix series
Everything you need to know about Netflix's 10-part drama about the Russian con-artist who defrauded the rich of New York.
Shonda Rhimes’ latest series dramatising the true story of Anna Sorokin (better known as Anna Delvey) has finally landed on Netflix.
The Netflix true-crime series follows the exploits of Anna Delvey (Julia Garner), the Russian-born fake German heiress who conned her way into New York society and managed to defraud hotels, banks and wealthy friends.
The series unfolds from the perspective of journalist Vivian (Anna Chlumsky), a fictionalised version of Jessica Pressler, who broke the wild true story in 2017.
Talking about how she got into character to play the real-life figure, Garner recently told Cosmopolitan: "It’s interesting, because Anna’s a real person, right? My biggest inspiration for Anna was Anna. I had these taped interviews – they’re not online, I got them exclusively.
"So I was mimicking her voice or getting to really start with her dialect and with her different, like, how she moves her body, from those tapes. But also with the trial photos, really looking closely at those trial photos. So Anna was really my biggest inspiration for playing Anna."
Here's everything you need to know about Netflix's true-crime drama Inventing Anna.
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Inventing Anna release date
Inventing Anna landed on the streamer on 11th February 2022 – meaning you can watch it right now!
Production began on the series in October 2019, taking place across New York, Los Angeles, Morocco and Europe.
The series suffered some production delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.
What is Inventing Anna about?
Inventing Anna is based on the true story of Anna Sorokin, a Russian-born fraudster who took on the identity of a fictitious wealth German heiress and was eventually convicted of multiple counts of attempted grand larceny, theft of services and larceny in 2019.
After moving to New York City in 2013, Sorokin began posing as Anna Delvey and told new friends and acquaintances that she was the beneficiary of a €60 million (£46 million) trust fund which was tied up overseas, but would cover her holiday trips and lifestyle. She would then ask her friends to pay for her, making excuses about leaving her wallet in her suitcase or saying her card had been declined and promising to pay them back.
According to court documents, she would present forged bank statements and deposit faulty cheques, withdrawing the money before they bounced.
She was eventually arrested in 2017 and two years later, a judge sentenced her to 4-12 years in prison for defrauding restaurants, private jet companies, banks and hotels out of over $200,000 (£156,000).
Inventing Anna tells the story of Delvey through the eyes of journalist Vivian, who is tasked with investigating the fraudster.
The series is inspired by Jessica Pressler's New York Magazine article, 'How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People', with Pressler on board as a producer.
"Anna and the reporter form a dark, funny love-hate bond as Anna awaits trial and our reporter fights the clock to answer the biggest question in NYC: who is Anna Delvey?" Netflix teases
Inventing Anna cast
Netflix announced last year that con-artist Anna Delvey would be played by Julia Garner, who is best known as Ruth Langmore in Ozark and for her roles in The Americans, Maniac and The Assistant.
Acting opposite her is Anna Chlumsky, who plays journalist Vivian (most likely loosely based off of Jessica Pressler). Chlumsky began her career as a child actress, starring in 1991's My Girl and has since starred in HBO's Veep.
The Inventing Anna cast also features Orange Is the New Black's Laverne Cox who plays celebrity trainer and life coach Kacy Duke, while Scandal's Katie Lowes plays Rachel – a woman whose friendship with Anna "destroys her job, her credit and her life".
The Bold Type actress Alexis Floyd portrays Neff, an aspiring filmmaker and hotel concierge who befriends Delvey, a new guest at the hotel.
Anders Holm (Workaholics, Champions), Arian Moayed (Succession), Anna Deavere Smith (The West Wing), Terry Kinney (Barry) and Jennifer Esposito (Taxi, NCIS) also appear in the drama.
Inventing Anna trailer
A trailer for Inventing Anna landed in January 2022, giving fans a glimpse at the cast in action. Watch below:
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