While there have been many scripted adaptations of true-crime podcasts like “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” and “Dirty John,” far fewer have been transformed into docuseries. But, following the massive success of the audio series “Scamanda,” ABC News Studios and Pilgrim Media Group have teamed up to put the story on the small screen.
Hosted by the podcast’s creator, Charlie Webster, “Scamanda” centers on Amanda Riley, a wife and mother who faked cancer for financial gain. The podcast was released in May 2023 and went viral, after which ABC News partnered with Webster and investigative producer Nancy Mosciatello for this four-part series to breathe new life into the disturbing tale. Most of the information presented will be repetitive for listeners of the podcast, but newcomers will likely be riveted by this truncated recap with its accompanying visual elements.
“Scamanda” opens with “Stage 1: Who’s Afraid of Amanda Riley?” which essentially rehashes the early episodes of the podcast and sets the scene in one of San Jose, California’s most affluent areas, where Riley lived, worked and scammed everyone around her. Webster and those once close to her, including her former friend Lisa Berry, share what they know about the vivacious young woman and her older husband, Cory Riley. Since Riley was beloved in the community, it’s immediately apparent why people rallied around her when she revealed her terminal Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis.
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“Scamanda” is a traditionally formatted docuseries that uses reenactments and interviews. Cory Riley’s first wife, Aletta Bernal, and friends from Family Community Church, where Riley was a member, recall how they first connected with her, how she was initially perceived and what happened as her lies finally caught up with her. These personal accounts, screenshots and photos pulled directly from Riley’s popular blog, “My Story … Our Journey,” establish the ins and outs of her nearly decade-long con.
What’s most interesting about Riley’s fraud is the psychology behind her deception and the privilege that enabled it. As a young, white, wholesome Christian woman, she quickly accumulated more than $100,000 in funding and endless sympathy. In the third episode, “Stage 3: The Wheels of Justice,” Dr. Judy Ho, a clinical and forensic neuropsychologist, suggests conditions like factitious disorder and Munchausen syndrome may have been the cause of Riley’s behavior. However, the docuseries doesn’t linger on those topics, instead sticking to the script of Webster’s podcast.
Moreover, because so much is still unknown about Riley’s background, and the documentary doesn’t include firsthand accounts from her or her family, several questions remain unanswered at the show’s conclusion. Viewers will leave “Scamanda” wondering what exactly Cory knew, how Riley’s compulsion for lying began and why she became fixated on cancer specifically.
Still, podcast listeners will be thrilled to learn the identity of the whistleblower who first reached out to producer Mosciatello with their suspicions. Also, the constant close-ups of Riley’s face, especially from a 2015 interview where she discusses her diagnosis and her faith, as well as emails and texts between Riley and her victims, add another sinister layer to the narrative. These revelations are a reminder that in our society, certain people, due to their race, socioeconomic background or even perceived attractiveness, will immediately be labeled as sympathetic victims. Riley attracted empathy and cash because of inherent societal bias. Though the series offers a brief update on where she is today, it mostly brushes over these themes. Digging deeper into the mental motivations behind Riley’s actions, her upbringing and the emotional impact of the lengthy con would have struck a more poignant and enduring note.
“Scamanda” premieres Jan. 30 on ABC, with new episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays.