Is Netflix’s Bodkin Based on a True Story? (Photo Credit – IMDb)
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Starring Will Forte, Siobhán Cullen, and Robyn Cara as Gilbert Power, Dove, and Emmy, respectively, the show keeps audiences on the edge of their seats while also tickling their funny bones. Since the series revolves around a true-crime podcast, people might wonder if Bodkin is based on a true story. Let’s find out!
What is the True Story Behind Netflix’s Bodkin?
Bodkin is not based on a true story. Though the series is centered on true-crime podcasters, its events and plot are entirely fictional. The show is a satire on how some podcasters get way too dramatic while discussing a true crime and blur the lines between facts and fiction.
To engross the audiences, the show’s makers put the message ‘Based on a True Story’ in the trailer; however, it was followed up with a footnote reading, ‘Overheard in a Pub.’ This move further mocks the people who take a tragic story and turn it on its head to make it a fun watch and gain some views.
Talking about Bodkin, series creator Jez Schacf said in an interview with Tudum, “It’s a fake town, it’s a fake place. It’s all fake people. The mystery itself, we worked very hard to find something that is in no way adjacent to a real true-crime story. The fictionality of it was very deliberate.”
However, Schacf added that some real-world true-crime podcasts inspired him to develop the show’s idea. The two podcasts he was most impacted by are Serial and S-Town. Serial, owned by The New York Times, is an investigative journalism podcast that started airing in 2014 and has gained a cult following over the years. On the other hand, S-Town, produced by Brian Reed and Julie Snyder, aired in 2017 and won several accolades.
Schacf revealed that he had consumed so many true-crime documentaries and podcasts in the past that he started to question the morality of the same, and hence, he was inspired to make Bodkin. “At the time, I was thinking a lot about the morality of true crime. They’re often very tragic stories but are parceled up into neat episodes with a good hook at the end,” added the creator in his interview. Hence, Bodkin is not based on a true story, but the show is a satirical take on true-crime podcasts of the real world.
