A new Netflix original true crime docuseries is leaving viewers in a state of disbelief. Arriving in the Netflix streaming library on Wednesday, Jan. 19, The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman has spurred a flurry of social media reactions as it spins the real-life jaw-dropping tale of Robert Freegard, “one of the world’s most audacious conmen,” over the course of three episodes.
Currently serving a life sentence, Freegard, over the course of a decade, controlled, conned, and fleeced at least seven women and one man, stealing close to a million pounds. A British conman and impostor, Freegard masqueraded as an MI5 agent and led his victims to believe they were accomplices in highly elaborate secret service operations and that their families were in grave danger if they did not obey. Per the docuseries official synopsis, “Freegard exploited, abused and controlled them with extreme cruelty, confident his victims were too paralysed by fear to escape. Now, in an incredible twist, the story reaches into the present day, with a family who fear for their mother’s safety.”
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The bizarre true tale has shocked many viewers, with one person dubbing The Puppet Master “such an exhilarating documentary” and “a sad and shocking story.” Another person tweeted that “it’s insane how some people can brainwash others,” with somebody else tweeting that they “can’t help but wonder why people are so gullible?!” Another viewer wrote that the series was “gripping, shocking, and would be impossible to believe if it weren’t a true story,” with another person sharing that it “is a wild ride from start to finish.”
More than just the ongoing social media chatter, the series has also earned the rare 100% fresh critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the audience has also given it a 78% rating. In their review for Independent (UK), Annabel Nugent wrote that the series “is the rare Netflix show that doesn’t overstretch its subject. The documentary is a taut, sad retelling of events, made sadder by the fact that Hendy-Freegard remains a free man.”
The Puppet Master is just the latest example of the streamer’s true crime library expansion. In recent years, the streamer has cemented itself as a go-to source for all things true crime, with titles like Don’t F**k with Cats and Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes spurring plenty of social media commentary and soaring to the top of the streamer’s Top 10 lists. Netflix is set to continue that moment in February with the premiere of Season 2 of Catching Killers, its original series focused on investigators’ efforts to apprehend and incarcerate some of the world’s most violent killers that shot to the top of the streaming charts following its November 2021 debut.
