The Wizard of Lies: Season 1

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Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Ratings

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6.7

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6.7	Your Score
6.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Ratings

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Season Details & Credits

HBO | Season Premiere Date: May 21, 2017

Summary: Sam Levinson, Sam Baum, and John Burnham Schwartz's adaptation of Diana B. Henriques' book focuses on the Ponzi scheme of Bernie Madoff (Robert De Niro) and the impact it had on his family, including his wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) and two sons (Alessandro Nivola and Nathan Darrow), when it all falls apart.

Genre(s): Drama, Movie/Mini-Series

Season 1 Episodes

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Critic Reviews

IndieWire Ben Travers

May 15, 2017

It’s hard to hold a bit of bluntness against a film with such patience. By the time The Wizard of Lies exposes its wizard as a fearsome man projecting a kind aura, the impact is as powerful as De Niro’s performance is restrained. Read full review

Matthew Gilbert

May 17, 2017

All these characters, including Bernie, come into focus only after The Wizard of Lies sets up the Madoff case, giving us an obligatory survey on the crime and how it played out. That material, which fills the first third of the film, is unnecessary. Once we turn to the psychological fallout, and Levinson gives us a more intimate point of view, The Wizard of Lies is captivating. Read full review

Robert Rorke

May 19, 2017

The new movie achieves its greatest power as a character study. Read full review

Bruce Miller

May 15, 2017

The Wizard of Lies doesn’t have the pop of “The Wolf of Wall Street” or “The Big Short” but it does its best to give viewers a look at a man who still seems like an enigma. Complexity aside, it gives De Niro one more notch on his belt of highly detailed, award-winning characters. Read full review

Josh Bell

May 18, 2017

While the movie spends comparatively little time on the thousands of people Madoff defrauded (acknowledging them in a couple of brief but intense montages), it conveys the severity of his crimes in the devastation of his immediate family, showing how he did lasting damage to the people he loved most, and none of them ever understood why. Read full review

Chuck Bowen

May 15, 2017

The Wizard of Lies doesn't refute that armchair outrage, which probably isn't possible or desirable anyway, but it's so pointedly lacking in empathetic imagination that one wonders why Levinson made the film, which bears less of a resemblance to art than a book report. Read full review

David Wiegand

May 19, 2017

In the end, you are of course left with no sympathy for Bernie Madoff--that’s to be expected. But you also have no greater insight into who he is and why he did it. Read full review

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User Score

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6.7

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User Reviews

GukaJijeishvili

Jun 6, 2017

Robert De Niro's best Performance in years. Good Supporting Cast and Great Directing from Barry Levinson, also Great screenplay by Sam Levinson, Samuel Baum and John Burnham Schwartz.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

richardrad

May 22, 2017

Pretty terrific. A fascinating portrayal and study of the man who ran the biggest Ponzi scheme in Wall Street history. Was Bernie Madoff a genius? Yes. Is is a sociopath? That's for the viewer to decide. This moviie/ show moves along at a brisk pace. But is neither bland, nor formulaic.Pretty terrific. A fascinating portrayal and study of the man who ran the biggest Ponzi scheme in Wall Street history. Was Bernie Madoff a genius? Yes. Is is a sociopath? That's for the viewer to decide. This moviie/ show moves along at a brisk pace. But is neither bland, nor formulaic. Remarkable performance by Robert De Niro.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

3ebfan511

Jun 5, 2017

Solid but not amazing look at Bernie Madoff and his "ponzie" scheme. Its a little slow at times and runs long, as its like a procedural look at how some of the things unfolded (but still very interesting.) It also almost...made me feel sad for some of his family members as it deals a lotSolid but not amazing look at Bernie Madoff and his "ponzie" scheme. Its a little slow at times and runs long, as its like a procedural look at how some of the things unfolded (but still very interesting.) It also almost...made me feel sad for some of his family members as it deals a lot with how things affected them as well. I would say it could have delved deeper into who he was, but it did show me a little more about his personality and it was definitely worth seeing.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

DarthSidious63

May 21, 2017

If you want to watch a better Bernie Madoff biopic last years Madoff was superior than The Wizard of Lies. Granted Robert De Niro was better than Richard Dreyfus as Bernie Madoff but the story was so dull. It barely touched the rest of the Madoff family.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

The3AcademySins

Aug 29, 2018

The Wizard of Lies takes a really interesting concept and a key moment in financial history and turns it into something that is completely boring and trying way to hard to "be artsy" without really understanding Bernie Madoff as a person. I personally cannot stomach this movie, even withThe Wizard of Lies takes a really interesting concept and a key moment in financial history and turns it into something that is completely boring and trying way to hard to "be artsy" without really understanding Bernie Madoff as a person. I personally cannot stomach this movie, even with Robert DeNiro's performance. My favorite scene is the scene of the family drama at the wedding before it all came crashing down. That scene was clear, emotional, and honest, and nothing else in this movie is any of those things.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Seasons & Episodes

67

Series Overview
Season 1

67
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: May 21, 2017
- No episode information is currently available for this season