Comedian Matt Bellassai will be talking with the people behind Evil Genius, executive producer/co-director Trey Borzillieri and writer/co-director Barbara Shroeder. Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist is a four part Netflix docuseries about a man who goes to deliver a pizza, and ends up getting a bomb strapped to his neck and sent on a scavenger hunt to rob a bank. We were so excited about this new series, we couldn't wait to put out the prologue! Make sure to watch the show, subscribe to this podcast, and join us next Wednesday for the full discussion.
Comedian Matt Bellassai will be talking with the people behind Evil Genius, executive producer/co-director Trey Borzillieri and writer/co-director Barbara Shroeder. Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist is a four part Netflix docuseries about a man who goes to deliver a pizza, and ends up getting a bomb strapped to his neck and sent on a scavenger hunt to rob a bank.
We were so excited about this new series, we couldn't wait to put out the prologue! Make sure to watch the show, subscribe to this podcast, and join us next Wednesday for the full discussion.
Rae: Welcome to You Can't Make This Up, a new companion podcast from Netflix.
[Music]
Rae: I'm Rae Votta, your host for this episode. This is another prologue episode of You Can't Make This Up. It's where we reveal the film or series that we'll be watching and talking about the following. That means, if you haven't seen the film or series yet, you'll have some time to take it all in before we spill the secrets from behind the scenes. So, what are watching for next week's episode? Can I get a drum roll, please?
[Drum roll]
Rae: That's better. Next week, we'll be talking about Evil Genius, the true story of America's most diabolical bank heist. Evil Genius is a four-part documentary series about a pizza delivery guy who goes to deliver a pizza and instead gets a bomb strapped to his neck and sent on a scavenger hunt. It's part-thriller, part-mystery, and all true. If that's not enough to keep you excited, here's a bit of the trailer.
[Clip from Evil Genius]
911: 911, what's your emergency?
Female: I think [unintelligible] [00:00:57].
Male 1: We got [unintelligible] [00:00:59].
Male 2: I start hearing a beep. His eyes just got real wide.
Male 3: A potential hostage sent into the bank with an explosive around their neck. Something like this had never happened before in the history of the FBI. The call was made to the pizza shop at 1:30. Brian Wells drove to the site where the pizzas were to be delivered.
Newscaster 1: The man told police that he was forced to rob the bank.
Newscaster 2: The FBI believe that whoever built the collar is patient and secretive.
Male 4: Brian Wells said that he was supposed to go on a scavenger hunt, and he was supposed to go from Point A to Point B to Point C, where the keys would be given to him to release this bomb. This made worldwide news.
Newscaster 1: The purpose of the pizza bomber plot, money.
Male 5: How could this happen? Who is the mastermind?
[Clip ends]
Rae: After getting sucked into the story, you can head back here next Wednesday. Matt Bellassai, comedian and host of the podcast Unhappy Hour, will be interviewing Barbara Shroeder, the show's writer and director, and Trey Borzillieri, the executive producer and co-director. It'll sound a little something like this.
[Clip plays of Evil Genius podcast episode]
Matt: Trey, you, sort of, talked about how some of your friends and family, kind of, worried about how, you know, whether you were getting in a little too deep. Did you ever worry about that yourself? Did you think, like, "Oh, maybe I need to take a step back and take a breath?
Trey: Yeah, for sure. I went into this project with such blind faith, and early on, it was clear that it was really tough to get any information. And so, you know, reaching out to Marjorie was just that. You know, I was trying to get information, and she was one of the only people that I could identify with in the case. And, it was just bizarre, and it took a lot of, sort of, what would you say, intestinal fortitude to keep it going. And, it was exhausting, but I just hoped that, eventually, it would pay off.
Barbara: Yeah. There were many times when we would sit down to discuss the case and Trey had just gotten off the phone with Marjorie for, you know, talking as long as she could keep him on the phone. And, he just looked exhausted and, like, he'd run 50 miles, and then, 10 minutes later, Marjorie would call again and Trey would pick up the phone just because he always thought, like, maybe she's going to say something. So, your fortitude was amazing.
Matt: Yeah. I can't even imagine. I mean, I feel like I had to take a walk after I watched it, and that was only four hours' worth, not 15 years' worth.
[Music]
Rae: Plus, you'll hear Matt and his podcast producer Barry Finkle react to some of the craziest moments of the show. Make sure to subscribe to You Can't Make This Up and join us next week. You can find us on Apple podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and anywhere else you'd like. Also, please rate and review You Can't Make This Up. It helps other listeners find the show. And, if you need someone to talk to while you're watching, you can always tweet the podcast @CantMakeThisUp or find us on Facebook at You Can't Make This Up Netflix. I'm Rae Votta. Happy streaming.
[Music]