Almost two years after a single episode of Sneaky Pete was first released, Bryan Cranston decided that we would like to see more of this devious, psychopathic (but non-violent) con man. We can be grateful he did because it appears that during that interlude our nation was conned ― and may be wondering how that happened.
The timing of this year’s release of 10 episodes of Sneaky Pete after our general election thus seems uncanny. As a country, we are already transfixed by our President, who gives new meaning to the art of the con, though he likes to think of it as the art of the deal. Sneaky Pete allows us to look behind the veils of chicanery and to spot bluffing, fabrications and legerdemain by witnessing the life of a fictional character, Pete Murphy (aka Marius Josipovic), played with extraordinary expressiveness and contained agitation by Giovanni Ribisi. Pete bounces from one bad moment or cornered situation to another, yet inexplicably escapes the consequences of his sneaky deeds. Art mimics life, or is it life mimicking art?
Dr. Lloyd Sederer is a psychiatrist and public health doctor. The opinions offered here are entirely his own. He takes no support from any pharmaceutical or device company.
Dr. Lloyd’s two new books are now available: Improving Mental Health: Four Secrets in Plain Sight (2016) and Controversies in Mental Health and Addictions: An Expert’s Anthology (2017)