Inventing Anna tells the story of how the fake German heiress scammed Manhattan’s social elite – and how she was found out
Last month, Netflix shared a first look at its forthcoming series, Inventing Anna, which tells the story of notorious scammer Anna Delvey. Created by Shonda Rhimes (Scandal, Bridgeton), the show is based on The Cut’s viral 2018 article about Delvey (AKA Anna Sorokin), who faked being a German heiress to scam Manhattan’s social elite from 2013 to 2017.
Now, in anticipation of its February 11 release, the series’ first teaser is finally here.
The teaser opens with a voiceover asking, “Who is this person? Who the hell is Anna Delvey?” as the scammer (played by Julia Garner) poses for selfies next to shots and champagne glasses. After flashes of Delvey at poolside resorts, glamorous parties, and front row at fashion week, the trailer reveals her lining up for a mugshot. “Anna Delvey’s a masterpiece, bitches,” she yells, before taking the photo.
The teaser also shows a first look at Anna Chlumsky’s character, Vivian – the reporter attempting to uncover the truth about Delvey (based on The Cut writer Jessica Pressler). “I might have a story,” she says, mapping out Anna’s whereabouts on ‘Manhattan’ magazine’s walls and spending late nights in the office.
Wrapping up the trailer, Delvey’s friend Rachel (Katie Lowes) confides in Vivian. “I want to tell you about my friend Anna,” she says. “I think she’s a con woman.” In 2019, Delvey's friend Rachel DeLoache Williams wrote a book about her experience with the scammer, titled My Friend Anna: The True Story of Anna Delvey, the Fake Heiress of New York City – read our interview with Williams here.
Elsewhere, Alexis Floyd (The Bold Type) plays a hotel concierge charmed by the scammer and Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black) plays Delvey’s personal trainer.
Last year, Garner opened up about playing the infamous con artist and meeting her in jail to research the role. “The only thing that I didn’t expect is that Anna is really funny,” said Garner. “She’s actually hysterical. And she’s super soft-spoken and gentle. Going into any part, you can’t have too many negative thoughts because you don’t want to start with the character judging them.”
“You can’t dislike the person you’re playing for eight, nine months,” she added. “That’s going to come across on the screen, and the performance isn’t going to be as good. She had her reasons why she did all the things she did.”
Watch the Inventing Anna trailer below.