There is a brilliant drama to be had from the story of Anna Delvey, and when someone makes one I’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime we have Inventing Anna (Netflix), which takes this fascinating story of a con artist who scammed Manhattan society and breezes through it with all the depth of an Emily in Paris episode.

If you’re unfamiliar with the case, here’s the summary: Delvey – born Anna Sorokin, to a middle-class Russian family – took in gullible socialites, fashionistas and art world figures by posing as an heiress. She lived in fancy hotels, wore designer clothes and flew by private jet. But she was funding it all through bad cheques and non-functioning credit cards, or stealing money from the people she befriended.

The rub was that Delvey wasn’t beautiful, charming or even remotely nice. She was welcomed into elite circles simply because she pretended to be rich. As one character in Shonda Rhimes’s nine-part series puts it: “Her face was basic. A peasant face. Which is how you know she was legitimately wealthy – no one who looked like that could get away with being poor, not in our world.” 

The main problem with this drama isn’t Julia Garner’s portrayal of Delvey, although it’s no more than adequate (her strangulated cod-European accent is ridiculous, but perhaps Delvey’s was too). There is no attempt to discover Delvey’s motivation, or the roots of her manipulative narcissism. But the real howler here is the decision to take the spotlight away from Delvey and make a reporter the star of the show. Anna Chlumsky plays Vivian Kent, staff writer for the fictional Manhattan magazine, a Lois Lane/Nancy Drew figure determined to crack the case.