Our love for true crime stories is not new and Netflix has mastered the art of curating fascinating stories in the genre. Its latest documentary, Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, delves into one of the most elaborate catfishing scandals we’ve ever heard of. The documentary is based on a podcast called Sweet Bobby produced by Tortoise Media. While the Netflix version of Sweet Bobby relays many disturbing facts of the case, there are many details from the podcast that are missing in the documentary.

About Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare

Kirat Assi, a radio show host in London, accepts a Facebook friend request from Bobby Jandu, a successful cardiologist. As they had some mutual friends, including Kirat’s cousin, she never doubted Bobby. Time passes and they form a deep, genuine friendship online, never really meeting in person. Three years later, after many twists and turns already, Bobby confesses his love for Kirat and a romantic relationship begins. All online. Soon enough, they start planning marriage and kids, and it seems like a dream come true to Kirat until it turns into a nightmare. When Kirat insists on meeting Bobby in person, what follows is lies, manipulation, abuse, and a total distortion of reality. 

When the Sweet Bobby podcast was released in 2021, it instantly became a chart-topping investigative series. The podcast runs for six episodes and goes beyond the whodunnit thriller format. It dissects the lies, manipulation, and deception with minute details that make the story even more disturbing. 

Is the documentary better than the podcast?

Was the Netflix documentary necessary? Absolutely not. The documentary establishes nothing that hasn’t been established in the podcast. In fact, it misses many details provided in the podcast. The documentary rushes things to get to the end while the podcast unfolds slowly, giving listeners the time to digest the emotional complexity of it. The podcast also gives more insight into how different people connected to Kirat feel about the ordeal. 

Even though Netflix describes the documentary as suspenseful, there’s nothing shocking except the length and complexity of the deceit. One of the key characters of the story also refuses to be interviewed, so we only have as much perspective as we get in the podcast. The documentary only provides faces to the voices we hear in the podcast. The only upside of Netflix’s Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare is that it will lead to a wider distribution of the story and, hopefully, raise more awareness about catfishing. 

You can watch Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare on Netflix. After you’re done watching, we suggest you listen to the podcast for more insight, available on Spotify.

Related: CTRL Review: Ananya Panday Reveals Our Horrific Future Through Her Dark Past In This Cyber Thriller