DIRTY JOHN: THE BETTY BRODERICK STORY
NETFLIX, FRIDAY 14 AUGUST
The first series of Dirty John in 2018 was based on the podcast of the same name telling the scary true story of creepy conman “Dirty” John Meehan and how he exploited and manipulated rich interior designer Debra Newell and many other women. It was well made and brilliantly acted (by Eric Bana and Connie Britton in the lead roles), but it may have felt a tad superfluous if you’d already listened to the comprehensive podcast. Now season two arrives, which isn’t about John Meehan at all, despite the title. It is instead based on another true story of a toxic relationship that ends in violence. This time, though, the series comes before the podcast, which makes it feel more vital.
BETTY THE INFAMOUS
The story of Betty Broderick is already well known in the United States, where coverage of her case was all over the media in the 1980s. It made her infamous to the point where a TV movie was made about her in 1992. In stark factual terms, Broderick was married to her successful lawyer husband Daniel for decades, and had four children with him. But in 1985 their marriage collapsed, after Betty accused him of having an affair with his much younger assistant Linda Kolkena. He moved out, filed for divorce and got custody of the children. In November 1989, seven months after Daniel and Linda got married, Betty shot them both dead.
FACT AND FICTION
This eight-part dramatisation seeks to flesh out those basic facts and explore the complexities of the story, and does so very effectively. A huge amount of credit for that goes to Amanda Peet, who plays Betty and convinces in every single scene – whether she’s just hanging out with her family before it all goes horribly wrong, or when she’s at the end of her tether, driven there perhaps by her husband’s manipulations and gaslighting. Almost as effective are Christian Slater as Dan and Rachel Keller as his lover and then wife Linda. Whatever your view of Betty Broderick and this tragic story, it makes for a gripping, fascinating drama. HHHH