TV Shows Based on Real Stories That Seem Too Wild to Be True

TV Shows Based on Real Stories That Seem Too Wild to Be True
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Humans have done some pretty wild and impressive things throughout our time on Earth. The acts of certain individuals is enough to earn them awards or medals while others get TV shows made of their stories. Hollywood particularly loves a chaotic true story and there’s no shortage of them coming to our screens this year.

Here are some of the best new and upcoming TV shows based on true events that will have you googling to find out what really happened.

TV Shows based on true stories you can watch in 2022

Pam & Tommy

pam and tommy true story tv shows
Image: Disney+/Hulu

Pam & Tommy revealed the true story behind Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s infamous sex tape.

The TV series clears up a few misconceptions – such as the fact that the tape was stolen and not intentionally leaked – as well as showing the difficulties the couple, particularly Anderson, faced in their personal and professional lives after the tape hit the internet. Plus, it features transformative performances from Lily James and Sebastian Stan.

Watch it now on Disney+.


Joe vs Carole

joe vs carole stan
Image: Stan (Supplied)

Everyone remembers that time during lockdown when we all became hooked on the wild true story of Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin’s Tiger King war. Hollywood quickly ran with the idea and cast Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell as the titular characters in Joe vs Carole, a drama series exploring their famous feud.

Watch it now on Stan.


Inventing Anna

inventing anna netflix
Screenshot: Netflix

One of the most mind-blowing true stories to come out of recent memory is Anna Delvey’s. Posing as a German heiress, Delvey managed to scam her way into the upper echelon of New York’s rich and famous only to be condemned for grand larceny.

Inventing Anna explores this wilder than fiction story with Julia Garner taking on the role of Delvey and Anna Chlumsky playing the reporter who wrote her story.

Watch it now on Netflix.


The Dropout

the dropout amanda seyfried trailer
Screenshot: Disney/Hulu

True crime stories, particularly amongst the rich and famous, certainly are the flavour right now. Another TV show that depicts an incredible rise with an equally incredible fall is The Dropout.

The show follows the founding of Theranos, a health technology company in the U.S. that claimed it could run blood tests on only a single drop of blood. Elizabeth Holmes started the company despite having no qualifications in medicine but was later convicted for fraud.

Watch it now on Disney+.


Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

winning time true story tv shows
Image: HBO/Binge

Even if you don’t like sports there’s something for everyone to enjoy in the new sports drama Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. The TV series takes us back to the ’80s to uncover the true story behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ rise to becoming one of the definitive dynasties in basketball history.

Watch it now on Binge.


The Girl From Plainville

The Girl From Plainville_30 March Only On Stan
Stan

The Girl From Plainville is one of those true stories that is sure to give you chills. The series stars Elle Fanning as Michelle Carter who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, died by suicide.

Watch it on Stan from March 30.


WeCrashed

wecrashed true story tv shows
Image: Apple TV+

Aussies may not know the story of WeWork, the American company that provides flexible workspace options for startups and businesses. Get ready to find out all about WeWork’s true story in the new TV show WeCrashed.

Jared Leto stars as WeWork founder Adam Neumann and Anne Hathaway as his wife Rebekah who helped build their brand into a $47 billion company that plummeted in value in under a year.

Find out why when WeCrashed releases on Apple TV+ from March 18.


Gaslit

gaslit true story tv shows
Image: Stan

Julia Roberts stars as Martha Mitchell in Gaslit who serves as an unlikely whistleblower in the Watergate scandal that plagued the US government in the ’70s. Mitchell bravely stood her ground against the White House and even her own husband, Attorney General John Mitchell.

Watch Gaslit on Stan from April 24.


The Offer

the offer true story tv shows
Image: Paramount

Nearly everyone has seen The Godfather these days, but do you know the story behind the making of one of Hollywood’s most iconic movies? The Offer is a new miniseries showing producer Albert S. Ruddy’s perspective during the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s incredible film.

The Offer streams on Paramount+ from April 29.


The Staircase

the staircase
Image: HBO/Binge

Telling the same story as the successful docuseries of the same name, The Staircase explores the real-life story of Michael Peterson who is thrown under a microscope after the suspicious death of his wife. Colin Firth and Toni Collette star in the TV show based on the true-crime.

Watch it on Binge later in 2022.


Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

evan peters
Image: FX

There’s been no shortage of TV shows and films telling the gory true story of Jeffrey Dahmer, one of America’s most notorious serial killers. Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer story will tell another one with Evan Peters taking on the role in a story from Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story).

The series will apparently be told from the perspective of Dahmer’s victims and deal with the police incompetence that allowed the murderer to get away with his crimes for years.

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is expected on Netflix later in 2022.


Looking for other things to watch this year? Check out our list of the most anticipated TV shows hitting screens in 2022.


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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