‘Dirty John’ explores romance with sociopath

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.— It was a story too delicious to believe. A wealthy career woman living in Southern California met the man of her dreams on the internet.

Their romance rivaled Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s, though with far less publicity. But the relationship slowly began to unravel when her family noticed disturbing eccentricities in her dashing love.

The story of the fairy tale romance and its bloody demise first appeared as a podcast by journalist Christopher Goffard and later ran as a series in the Los Angeles Times.

Now Bravo elevates it to high visual drama when “Dirty John” premieres Sunday. Connie Britton plays the elegant Debra Newell, a single mother with a thriving interior design business. Eric Bana is the enigmatic John Meehan in the eightpart series.

Britton says she got to explore the subject with the real Debra Newell. “We’ve actually spent a good deal of time together,” she says.

Britton, 51, says it was critical that she understand how such an intelligent person as Newell could be flimflammed so easily. “Ultimately, we’re telling the story of how a con man can be so effective. And so it’s important to make Debra relatable so that we can all see ourselves in her, and not just say, ‘Oh, well, that’s because she’s this,’ or ‘That’s because she’s that,’” she says.

To portray the devious Meehan was another story, says Australian actor Bana, who’s known for film work in movies like “Munich,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and “Chopper.” “Whilst there’s a lot of factual information about John, I actually find him really mysterious,” says Bana.

The challenge he says, is Meehan was not just one guy who told whopping lies, but a “type” that exists all over the world.

“It’s not him individually that’s fascinating. It’s his behavior and that type of character,” says Bana.