Operation Varsity Blues, otherwise known as the college admissions scandal of 2019, was one of the rare news stories to unite gobsmacked viewers as it broke, and the Netflix version — complete with dramatic reenactments of FBI wiretaps — is poised to do the same. Based on the true events and FBI investigation into wealthy families paying for their kids’ college admissions, documentary feature Operation Varsity Blues dials the drama up to 11.
Matthew Modine plays ringleader Rick Singer, who brags about his hundreds of “side door” operations and ends up enticing clients like Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. Interviews in the trailer recount the blatancy of the scheme — students pretending to be athletes in sports they had never played and rich parents going along with everything because nothing feels as unfathomable to them as consequences.
Operation Varsity Blues hits Netflix March 17.