Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street

Backstory

Berlinger stated in an interview that he wanted to emphasize the failure of regulators. The never-before-seen footage of Madoff came from attorney Helen Chaitman, who had deposed Madoff while representing victims in clawback lawsuits and offered the footage to Berlinger during an interview.

Plot summaries

The series opens with Madoff's arrest and his early life, including his determination not to fail like his father. It covers his start in penny stock trades, a profitable side business, and his work with brother Peter to pioneer computerized trading and consolidate off-exchange markets, leading to NASDAQ, where Madoff served on the Board of Governors. The second episode contrasts the modern 19th floor of the Lipstick Building with the shopworn 17th floor, where the fraud was orchestrated and the hedge fund business drew scrutiny.

In his deposition, Madoff names four significant investors, including Jeffry Picower, a long-time client suspected of knowing about the scheme and profiting from it. The third episode focuses on how Madoff's unrealistic numbers were ignored by the SEC, which was enamored by his reputation. The final episode shows the collapse of the $65 billion Ponzi scheme during the 2008 financial crisis, Madoff's confession, and his arrest. After pleading guilty, Madoff received a 150-year sentence. Two years later, his eldest son Mark died by suicide; his other son died of lymphoma six years later.

Production

Shooting was done on stage rather than in traditional office space, allowing easier control of the set for transitions between daylight and night scenes using continuous shots. Interviews with some victims were done off-set in actual locations. Crew sizes ranged from four to one hundred over 30 to 40 days of shooting. Netflix announced the series in October 2021, noting access to victims, whistleblowers, investigators, and archives, and that it would be based on Jim Campbell's book.

Reception

The series was generally well received. John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal wrote that Berlinger avoided romanticizing the story while putting blood in its veins. Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com said it unpacks a complex issue in an easy-to-follow way. Chitra Ramaswamy of The Guardian called it a pacy financial thriller. Nick Schager of The Daily Beast described it as a stinting evisceration of a man and culture that valued dollar signs over rules. It premiered at number two on the Netflix Top 10 Most Viewed list and was in the Top 10 in TV in twenty countries in its first week.