Now, Netflix is ready to tell the story of the scandal that rocked America with its latest sure-to-shock documentary, Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal, which premieres on the platform March 17. Astute celeb-spotters will notice that the doc’s first trailer offers a unique combo of real-life news footage featuring the famous folks who got swept up in the sting—most notably, actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman—plus other actors portraying some of the scam’s key figures, like MatthewModine, who stars as racket mastermind Rick Singer. While Modine isn’t credited in the trailer (all the better to give the film a ripped-from-the-headlines feel), he’s been hyping the project on social media, telling his Twitter followers about the juicy docudrama, “This is gonna be fun.” So you may be wondering just what you can expect to see and learn about in Operation Varsity Blues. While Netflix hasn’t divulged many secrets about the project, here’s what we know so far.
Operation Varsity Blues release date
The doc will drop Wed., March 17.
Operation Varsity Blues trailer
The trailer just dropped, and it’s riveting! It opens with scenes of students anticipating college acceptance letters, which is anxiety-inducing enough, and then moves onto the actual scandal. We see and hear Modine as Singer plotting with parents who are timid at first. The trailer also notes that Operation Varsity Blues was made by the producers and directors behind two other Netflix hits based on real-life scandals: the 2019 feature-length documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened and 2020’s smash-hit docuseries, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. It’s bound to be good.
Is Operation Varsity Blues a documentary or a movie?
The feature-length documentary includes a mix of dramatic re-enactments (many of them starring Modine), plus more traditional documentary elements like Q&As with the real-life figures involved in the scandal and archival news footage. It also includes real conversations “recreated from FBI wiretaps.”
Will Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman be in Operation Varsity Blues?
As mentioned above, the trailer reveals real-life shots of Loughlin and Huffman, plus what appears to be footage of Singer alongside Modine’s portrayal of him. Netflix is keeping mum so far about which other stars may appear in the project, either playing other people or as themselves.
What is Operation Varsity Blues about?
Netflix promises that the doc will take viewers beyond the celebrity-driven headlines that fueled the scandal when it first broke, providing an even fuller picture of just how Singer orchestrated his scam—and how huge it really was.
Where to watch Operation Varsity Blues
Operation Varsity Blues will debut on Netflix Wed., March 17. Next, see what other true crime documentaries you need to watch.
