Master the Plan
21 TV shows and movies about strategic thinkers: criminals
Well, I feel a bit uneasy revealing my true affection towards all types of great heists stories. Thrillers, detectives, mind games, negotiations, political scandals and other intense situations make me very excited. I love the strategic thinking of sophisticated thieves and the unlimited variety of characters that could play a part in a story.
It’s no wonder that stories about art crime, art forgery and famous artists as CIA cultural agents are also in my priority list of interests (okay, a separate genre is Israeli intelligence missions, but we’ll talk about it later). All of this would feature in an exhibition on the Cold War that I dreamt and still dream of curating. Leo Castelli (originally Krausz) worked for the CIA to get US citizenship, while discovering Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg for the public. Jackson Pollock was associated with CIA organizations. The classic movie The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) and the massive wave of fake Russian avant-garde (some of the fakes are much better than Malevich could ever have imagined) didn’t help my interest in high blood pressure storytelling.
By the way, if I were to talk about the forefather of all mentalist detectives Sherlock Holmes, I would fall into only two of his traits: morally shady personality and read-people-negotiation manners. After all this, I would like you to receive and sign a list of 21 series and movies on all of the above subjects. These aren’t necessarily new releases, some of them I watch again from time to time and, of course, I don’t insist on the categories. Shuffle them however you like. And I assume that you are familiar with Lupin (2021-) and that’s why don’t mention below.
If you like The Ocean’s Trilogy and following criminal master plan, watch:
Money Heist (2017-2021)
The Vault (2021)
Sharper (2023)
Now You See Me (2013 & 2016)
21 (2008)
The Italian Job (2003)
If you like The White Lotus (2021-) and getting a hint each episode you might enjoy:
Only Murders In One Building (2021-)
The Afterparty (2021-2022)
Death and Other Details(2024-)
If you like Lie To Me (2009-2011) and enjoy high risk tuff negotiations, watch:
Hijack (2023)
The Honourable Woman (2014)
Departure (2019, Season 1)
If you like Little Fires Everywhere (2020) and mind games, watch:
The Shrink Next Door (2021)
Defending Jacob (2020)
Crowded Room (2023)
If you like Big Little Lies (2017-2019) and a great revenge plan, watch:
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Bad Sisters (2022-)
If you like Inventing Anna (2022) & We Crashed (2022) and would sacrifice everything for success, watch:
The One (2021)
The Drop Out (2022)
I Care a Lot (2020)
Pain Hustlers (2023)
I only have one list on IMDB which I update constantly and almost religiously, so when I started composing this letter I immersed myself in it and got a clear picture of the amount of series I watch. The list is comprised of 446 (NB!) titles since it was created in 2019. Insane, isn't it? But there is no one in the world who can fool myself better than myself. Here's a trick – whenever you feel socially awkward (and I find myself in those moments several times a day), you can always talk about TV shows - everyone will join in the conversation. Trust me! I have checked!
While writing this email I explored an old but inspiring material ‘How to Buy a Work of Art’ in T Magazine from 2021 and a big research on Ozempic and Patients Suffering Food Disorder.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s already been a month since the launch of TJD! This is the ninth newsletter and next Wednesday you’ll get another portion of the Goings-on!
Always happy to help you entertain yourself,
Miri