LOS ANGELES –
A Netflix documentary will use actor recreations of FBI wiretaps to
tell the story of Rick Singer, the man at the center of the college
admissions scandal that sent actors Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin and
and several other prominent parents to prison.
Netflix announced Monday that “Operation Varsity Blues" will be released on March 17.
Named
for the FBI operation that exposed the scandal, the documentary will
focus not on the convicted celebrities like Huffman and Loughlin, but on
how Singer persuaded them and many other wealthy clients to cheat to
get their children into elite colleges.
Netflix
said in its announcement that the documentary will use “an innovative
combination of interviews and narrative recreations of the FBI’s
wiretapped conversations between Singer and his clients.”
The
documentary is from filmmakers Chris Smith and Jon Karmen, whose
previous credits include Netflix’s Fyre festival documentary and “Tiger
King.”
Actor
Matthew Modine plays Singer, the admitted mastermind of the operation
who flipped and started working with investigators, secretly recording
his conversations with parents and coaches.
More
than 50 people were charged in the scandal that saw parents pay bribes
to have someone cheat on their children’s entrance exams or pretend
their kids were star athletes for sports they didn’t play.
Singer
pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and several other charges,
and is expected to testify at defendants' trials. He has not been
sentenced.