TV Review: Laci Mosley Shines a Light on Scammers and Their Victims as Her “Scam Goddess” Podcast Makes the Jump to Freeform

Freeform’s latest docuseries debuts this Wednesday, January 15th.

Later this week, Freeform will continue their movement into the world of unscripted series with an adaptation of the popular podcast, Scam Goddess. Hosted by comedian Laci Mosley, who is known for her role in the reboot of iCarly, Scam Goddess looks into small-town swindles and big-city cons across the U.S. “From Ponzi schemes to religious scammers to fake royalty, Laci meets whistleblowers, victims and even the scammers themselves, tracking down the culprits with her signature wit, leaving no stone — or scam — unturned.”

This series feels like something new for Freeform, which has trended more toward reality TV in recent years, and away from scripted series. Scam Goddess is presented in a documentary style, but with some interesting interjections from the host. Laci has a very endearing personality, which shines through as she talks with and interviews people affected by the scams.

And the scams presented are heinous. The first episode focuses on equestrian Rita Crundwell, who served as the treasurer for the town of Dixon, Illinous. She was able to embezzle $53.7 million out of the city’s budget over the course of 22 years. While it’s important to hear the details of just how people like Rita were able to commit these scams, it’s equally as important to hear how it affected her victims.

The second episode goes a step further, as Laci was able to secure an interview with the featured scammer, tech guru scammer Kyle Sandler. During their talk, Sandler talks of how he swindled investors out of $1.9 million with what seems like some refreshing honesty. But that appears only to be surface-level, which Laci calls him out on in some refreshingly confrontational interviewing. It’s great to see in the first two episodes how the respective victims were able to bounce back from the scams and create something even better.

Laci is the perfect host for this series, working in a tasteful amount of humor alongside genuine care for the people she interviews. Add to that an astonishing display of stylish outfits throughout the episodes, and you can see why her podcast of the same name has been so successful. Speaking of stylish, the design choices of many of the graphics used were also very appealing.

Scam Goddess premieres Wednesday, January 15th on Freeform, streaming the next day on Hulu.

Sign up for Disney+ or the Disney Streaming Bundle (Disney+, ESPN+, and ad-supported Hulu) now
Luke Manning
Luke is a fan of all things theme parks and self-proclaimed #1 fan of Joffrey’s Coffee, who lives in Kissimmee, FL