Discovery+ orders three-part documentary series on US con artist Barry Minkow

US-based unscripted streamer Discovery+ has commissioned a three-part documentary series examining the life of notorious US con artist Barry Minkow.

Jason Sarlanis

Produced by California-based The Content Group, which is part of Asylum Entertainment Group, King of the Con is set to launch on Discovery+ on January 14.

At the age of 16, Minkow became known as one of America’s youngest and most successful entrepreneurs with the launch of his carpet-cleaning company ZZZZ Best. However, after the company went public, it emerged that it was a front for a large-scale Ponzi scheme with ties to the mob.

The series is executive produced by Steve Michaels, Sami Abdou, Jedd Thomas, James Macnab and Jodi Flynn. Pamela Deutsch is exec producing for Discovery+.

The Content Group, led by CEO Michaels, has several joint ventures in place, including Big City TV (with Lori Rothschild), Breaklight Pictures (Dan Johnstone) and 72 Steps Media (Ben Salter).

Recent projects produced under the The Content Group banner include Shaq Life for TNT, American Cartel and Detective Diaries (Breaklight Pictures) for Discovery+ and Doubling Down with the Derricos (Big City TV) for TLC.

Jason Sarlanis, Discovery’s president of crime and investigative content, said: “King of the Con offers a glimpse inside the mind of one of the most notorious, over-the-top con men to ever exist and a very rare opportunity to hear, first-hand, from him exactly how he managed to defraud countless people over four decades.”