‘Operation Varsity Blues’ & More Amazing True Stories to Stream on Netflix
Preview
TV is filling up with riveting true stories, which means they aren’t too difficult to come by these days. While it’s hard to go wrong, we want to make it easy for you. Here, three documentaries sure to keep you captivated.
Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal
Who can resist a story about the fall of the rich and famous? In 2019, the FBI charged elites like actress Lori Loughlin for paying college consultant Rick Singer to cheat the system and get their kids into selective schools. His methods are revealed via interviews with those involved, plus reenactments of the FBI’s wiretapped conversations between clients and Singer (played by Matthew Modine). “Rick had to be charismatic to achieve what he did,” says director Chris Smith. Available now
The Last Blockbuster
During its heyday, video rental chain Blockbuster had more than 9,000 locations. Today, just one store remains, in Bend, Oregon. This love letter celebrates the onetime behemoth and explains why it flopped (spoiler: the streaming revolution was only part of it). Cameras follow Oregon store manager Sandi Harding — an affable woman straight out of a PG movie — who’s struggling to keep it open. She reminisces, former execs dish and stars rhapsodize about its cultural impact. Available now
(Credit: Netflix)
This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist
“I assumed it was like The Thomas Crown Affair, suave thieves rappelling through a skylight, a martini in one hand, a Rembrandt in the other,” director Colin Barnicle says of history’s largest unsolved art theft. The truth turns out to be seedier when he investigates the 1990 pilfering of masterworks from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Barnicle revisits witness accounts, reviews theories, finds new clues and reveals the art’s possible location! Premieres Wednesday, April 7
