Scam Goddess is an empathetic, entertaining adaptation of the popular podcast

Laci Mosley loves scams. For more than five years, the actor and comedian—known for series like A Black Lady Sketch Show, Florida Girls, and the currently airing Going Dutch—has hosted the Earwolf podcast Scam Goddess, in which she and a guest preach to the CONgregation about swindles, robberies, fraud, and the like. And on the show she has perfected a special blend of public-service announcement, historical storytelling, and ribald commentary that often spins out into highly entertaining tangents (including one that sparked that “drama” between Ayo Edebiri and Jennifer Lopez). And now, she’s stepping out from behind the microphone in this new Freeform series, digging into six true-crime stories (some of which have been covered on the podcast).

Expectations need to be shifted a bit when approaching the TV show version of SG. The podcast takes a “sometimes we love them, sometimes we hate them” look at its subjects, with neither the host nor guest knowing the full story ahead of time, which can lead to drastic shifts when something truly unsavory is revealed or squeals of delight when someone pulls off a particularly sweet con. Freeform’s Scam Goddess, on meanwhile, casts a bit more of a sympathetic eye on those swept up in dupers’ webs. 

And it turns out that Mosley’s charisma as a host on-mic easily translates to the small screen. She has a knack for doing goofy sketches and bits without making them feel overbearing and can gently poke fun at some of the spots she visits while avoiding punching down. (She seems pretty charmed by every place she travels to, whether it’s as small as Opelika, Alabama, or as big as Miami.) She’s also an engaging, witty interviewer, knowing the exact amount of mugging to do and when it’s time to pop a joke or, most importantly, cede attention to the victims so that their voices feel heard (which is probably the main difference between this adaptation and the original).