From newspaper story to peak TV

A dangerous marriage detailed in the ‘Dirty John’ articles becomes a Bravo series, reliving events that led a heart astray

Bravo hopes it can hook viewers with “Dirty John,” a popular print series and podcast from The Times.

When asked to describe how she felt when she learned that Bravo was interested in adapting “Dirty John” into a scripted series, Debra Newell delicately offers just one word: “Nervous.”

Christopher Goffard’s popular print series and podcast, published simultaneously by the Los Angeles Times in October 2017, presented a dating horror story curled up into a true-crime serial. Set in Orange County, the saga chronicled the real-life whirlwind romance between Newell, a wealthy interior design businesswoman, and John Meehan, an initially charming man whose mastery at manipulation and deception turned catastrophic.

The podcast was particularly successful — 30 million downloads since its launch — but for Newell the response was mixed. Many listeners and readers harshly questioned her choices. The attention, she says, “somewhat” hurt her company, Ambrosia Interior Design, and she eventually closed it.

“It created problems here because I had such a squeaky clean reputation,” Newell says. “Some of them didn’t want to

Kirk McKoy Los Angeles Times ERIC BANA portrays John Meehan and Connie Britton is Debra Newell in the Bravo series “Dirty John.” For a review, see Page E5.