Show of the week: Con Girl

This 4 x 60-minute documentary series tells the stranger-than-fiction story of con artist Samantha Azzopardi, who has amassed at least 70 false identities since she embarked upon her career of deception as a 14-year-old girl from Brisbane.

On the surface, Azzopardi seemed innocence personified, but behind the sweet facade was a brazen and sophisticated confidence trickster – and a psychological enigma.

Producers CJZ dig deeper than ever before into Azzopardi’s crimes and the impact on those she has left in her wake.

“Con Girl is the result of a complex two-year investigation by the CJZ team that has uncovered a series of world exclusives on a case which continues to attract global media interest,” reveals Andrew Farrell, head of factual at show producers CJZ.

“We were able to find and interview a number of key survivors of Samantha Azzopardi’s cons. Some have never been publicly named before, none have ever told their stories in this much detail. What they reveal is often shocking, giving us extraordinary insights into the astonishing activities that Samantha convinced them to undertake.”

Farrell explains that the series also seeks to analyse why Azzopardi committed her crimes. “In a world first, we gather all the witness accounts and evidence from a string of her cons into one place and give it to leading forensic psychologist, Professor Richard Frierson, for analysis.

“Across the series he leads us on a fascinating journey through Samantha’s psychology as we seek to understand what drove her on one of the most unusual crime sprees in history.”

While Azzopardi started out in Australia, her story is global and one that will undoubtedly appeal to international audiences, says Farrell. “Her cons took her across the world. This series covers events in Ireland, Canada and Australia.

“We interview survivors from France, Australia and California. We speak to experts in London, New York City and South Carolina.

“The success of multiple recent unscripted and scripted series about cons has shown there is a universal fascination for these kinds of stories that transcends borders.”

Producer: CJZ
Distributor: Bossanova
Broadcaster: Network Seven (Australia) & Paramount+ (UK & Ireland)
Logline: Docuseries digging into the crimes of Australian con artist Samantha Azzopardi, featuring exclusive interviews with her victims