How The Dirty John Cast Compares To Their Real-Life Counterparts

Bravo’s anthology series Dirty John is your worst online dating nightmare, realized. It’s also a (mostly) true story.

Based on Christopher Goffard’s popular Los Angeles Times podcast of the same name, Dirty John tells the story Debra Newell, a successful Orange County interior designer who seeks love on the internet. She finds John Meehan, a man who purports to be a doctor. More importantly, Meehan claims that he is a decent man — which Newell finds quite rare. Unfortunately for the businesswoman and mother, Meehan is not what he claims to be. Newell realizes this much too late.

Led by a star-studded cast, Dirty John brings a true horror story about missing all the red flags to life. But it’s more than just star power that gives Dirty John a leg-up on other cautionary tales. Each person in this cast resembles their real-life counterpart.

Dirty John is now streaming on Netflix, which means now is the perfect time to get caught up on the real story behind the fictionalized version. Take a look at who is playing the con artist, the skeptics, and the victims within this story.