Parents' Guide to

The Con

By Monique Jones, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Retread of Fyre Fest debacle, other schemes has language.

TV ABC Educational 2021
The Con Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

  • The Con TV: Scene #1
  • The Con TV: Scene #2

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age 13+

Based on 1 parent review

Doris Day
Doris Day Adult
May 4, 2021
age 13+

Waste of whoopie time! BIG TIME!

These stories are old, I've heard of them prior to these coming out. I have a huge issue with whoopie... I use to like her in movies, then she became a monster with an overly loud mouth on a dumb talk show... so NO! Her voice as narrative, is disgusting! DO NOT BOTHER WATCHING THIS!

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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What's the Story?

THE CON highlights how some of the biggest cons in American pop culture were pulled off and the aftermath. In the episode "The Fyre Festival Con," Billy McFarland is the mastermind behind the doomed Fyre Festival, which was meant to be an exclusive music and lifestyle festival for social media influencers and others willing to pay for an elite lifestyle. The results of the festival led to festival-goers and vendors collectively losing millions of dollars, with McFarland getting charged and convicted of wire fraud. The Con aims to answer what led up to the festival's demise.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (3):

The Con feels a little dated as it attempts to tell the full stories of cons that felt big in recent years but are somewhat forgotten in the quick news cycles of today. The Fyre Festival, which went viral in 2018 for its horrible conditions and lack of funding, has already been the subject of two documentaries in 2019, Fyre and Fyre Fraud. These two documentaries do great jobs to break down the behind-the-scenes process that created the festival and its ultimate demise.

The public is saturated with information on many of the other cons already, so the show can feel like a retread. However, the series does boast a new interview with McFarland that it tries to tease out for maximum viewing suspense. Even still, not much aside from McFarland's own admission of guilt is revealed.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • What is a con? How can you protect yourself from a con or "get rich quick" scheme?

  • Why is Billy McFarland considered a con artist by festival-goers and vendors?

  • Why do you think people create cons? What needs do they fill for people besides money?

  • How did the Fyre Festival appeal to social media? What is dangerous about the relationship between the Fyre Festival and the hope to access an "Instagram-perfect" life?

TV Details

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