Why are so many drama series based on real-life events?
“Atlanta” returns for its third season on March 24, and I’ve got it marked on my calendar, not just because it’s been nearly four years since the last season, but because it stands out as an original series in the flood of docudramatic reimaginations of real-life events that has overtaken streaming platforms of late.
Last month brought “Inventing Anna,” about the faux heiress Anna Delvey, and “Pam and Tommy,” about the actress Pamela Anderson and the musician Tommy Lee. This month sees shows about Elizabeth Holmes and the failed start-up Theranos, a “Tiger King” redux and Adam McKay’s 1980s-set “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.”
Also in March: Renée Zellweger in “The Thing About Pam,” about a murder in Missouri; “WeCrashed,” about the rise and, well, crash of WeWork; and “The Girl From Plainville,” with Elle Fanning playing the teenager convicted of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend via text message to kill himself. (EW has a guide to premiere dates.)
Why so many?
I wanted to understand why we’re seeing so many of these ripped-from-the-headlines stories right now, so I went to Brooks Barnes, who reports on Hollywood for The Times. “Boomlets in a specific type of content often happen in Hollywood because something flavors the creative water — ‘Ooh, real life is hot, everyone run in that direction,’” he wrote in an email. This boomlet began, he says, in response to the massive success of “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” in 2016.
He said that Hollywood likes stories that have already found audiences in other formats because they create awareness among potential viewers. “Television executives can reboot old shows, draft off of movies (the Marvel series, for instance) or look at real-life events,” he said.
But precisely because these subjects have already been addressed in articles, books, documentaries and podcasts, why not just leave the story to its original forms? Why retell the WeWork saga with Jared Leto playing the founder Adam Neumann when audiences can watch Neumann himself in a documentary about it?
I took this question to the playwright and screenwriter Cusi Cram. Dramatizations permit writers and directors to get creative, Cusi told me. “You can heighten moments, go deeper into the psychology of the character and speculate even. You can create more drama than a documentary can.”
That makes sense. But I still wondered about audiences. Why do we want to watch stories whose endings we already know? Where is our appetite for novelty, for surprise?
“People — despite what they may say — prefer stories that they know,” Brooks said.
He also noted our nearly infinite entertainment choices. “What is going to be worth your while? A show about something you’ve never heard about? Or a hate watch of Elizabeth Holmes?”
What else is on
If you’d prefer your headlines rendered in documentary form, you have a few choices to stream in March: the scandalous early years of the Chippendales; the fall of a New York City vegan restaurateur; and the secrets of a megachurch that counted Justin Bieber among its members.
Also on the way, in scripted TV: “The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray,” based on the Walter Mosley novel and starring Samuel L. Jackson; a new Amy Schumer show; new episodes of “Riverdale”; “Pachinko,” based on the novel by Min Jin Lee; and the second season of “Bridgerton.” And you already know about “Atlanta.”
For more
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One from the archive: “The Basic Crookedness of Docudramas,” by Walter Goodman from 1989.
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WEEKENDS ARE FOR …
🍿 Movies: Watch these 13 before they leave Netflix this month.
🎧 Listening: Our reviewer recommends audiobooks by Chuck Klosterman, Michael Schur and Florence Williams.
🏋️♀️ Weight training: You need just three seconds.
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
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At Paris fashion week, designers are acknowledging the dissonance of putting on shows at a tense time.
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Film festivals are split on whether to ban Russian movies. Some fear silencing dissidents.
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Pat Sajak defended a “Wheel of Fortune” contestant whose mistake went viral, ABC reports.
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THE LATEST NEWS
Russia-Ukraine War
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Russian troops advanced their campaign to surround Kyiv and bore down on coastal cities in southern Ukraine.
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Russia clamped down harder on news and free speech than it ever has under President Vladimir Putin. Some Western outlets suspended operations there.
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Lviv has become a way station for supplies heading into the front lines and for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Ukraine.
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Hackers are conducting relatively simple but effective cyberattacks against Russian and Ukrainian websites.
Other Big Stories
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The U.S. added 678,000 jobs last month as unemployment fell to its lowest level since the pandemic took hold.
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The I.R.S. is struggling with staff shortages, old technology and added responsibilities as tax season hits.
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A bombing at a mosque killed dozens of people in one Pakistan’s worst terrorist attacks in years. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.
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Not just “Maus”: Efforts to limit curriculums put Tennessee at the forefront of a nationwide conservative effort to reshape student learning.
REAL ESTATE
What you get for $3 million: a Colonial Revival in Greenwich, Conn.; a loft in Asheville, N.C.; or a Gilded Age showplace in Pittsburgh.
The hunt: She wanted her own driveway. Which home did she choose? Play our game.
Market opportunity: While other industries struggle to attract workers, real estate is setting records.
Super commuters: Hotels are offering promotions for people traveling to their offices from afar on hybrid schedules.
FOOD
Quick hits: Here are 19 extremely easy recipes for when you’re tired of cooking.
A city’s revival: Investors who see food businesses as critical to Detroit’s recovery are betting on Black, immigrant and female entrepreneurs.
Rare fruits: Gardeners coax mangoes, limes and more out of the Arizona desert.
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A San Francisco dish: These noodles are creamy and garlic-packed.
LIVING
Too many treats: Yes, your pets also put on pandemic pounds.
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Bigorexia: TikTok has driven some teenage boys to work out excessively.
Nightlife inflation: The cost of going out is going up in New York City.
Recreating history: One woman hiked the Pyrenees to understand her father’s escape from the Nazi invasion of France.
GAME OF THE WEEKEND
Manchester City vs. Manchester United, English Premier League soccer: It’s the 187th meeting of these clubs, whose home stadiums are just four miles apart. Manchester City, the reigning league champion, must win this weekend to maintain its slim lead in the standings, the Times soccer correspondent Rory Smith tells us. The problem? “Its opponent is its fierce local rival, Manchester United, in something of an ongoing rut but energized by the prospect of derailing its neighbor’s run at the championship.” 11 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, USA Network.
For more:
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Rory explains how United, one of England’s more storied clubs, became stuck in the past.
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If you’re already a fan, try On Soccer, Rory’s in-depth newsletter.
NOW TIME TO PLAY
The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was publicly. Here is today’s puzzle — or you can play online.
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Here’s today’s Wordle. If you’re in the mood to play more, find all our games here.
Before You Go …
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If you have 30 minutes, read this story of a Peter Thiel-funded film festival and the artist behind it.
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Miss your StarTAC? Visit the Mobile Phone Museum.
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See which planets are visible tonight where you are.
Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa
Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti, Ashley Wu and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com.
