Television series

Trust

Name: Trust
Genre: Drama, Crime
Released: 2018
Cast: Harris Dickinson, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Swank, Brendan Fraser, Anna Chancellor

Other titles called Trust: the 1990 film.

Drama
Gangster
Very dark

A richly layered drama about the 1973 kidnapping of a Getty heir in Rome, told through the collision of a fractured family and their impossible fortune. Director Danny Boyle's miniseries is as much about wealth's spiritual corrosion as it is thriller. Propulsive, darkly funny, and anchored by performances that find humanity in dysfunction.

TVMaze rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you are drawn to cold, patient family dramas about how money warps people, and to performances that let a monstrous patriarch be quietly, unnervingly reasonable.

Skip it if you want a taut hostage thriller, since this is a sprawling portrait of wealth and dysfunction where tension arrives in slow, grim doses.

What it asks of you: Ten hour-long episodes set an unhurried pace, cutting between rooms, decades and characters, so attention pays off more than channel-surfing ever would.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Succession2018

A dynastic power struggle between incompetent heirs and an aging patriarch, told with surgical precision and pitch-black comedy. Explores how enormous wealth warps family bonds into something unrecognizable.

But The relentless bleakness and verbal cruelty can feel exhausting rather than cathartic. No one learns anything, and that's the point—which isn't everyone's idea of satisfying.

The Queen's Gambit2020

A beautifully crafted miniseries following a genius at odds with herself and her circumstances. Spare direction, a career-best performance, and genuine emotional stakes underneath the surface glamour.

But The protagonist's struggles, while real, never quite devastate. It's more about triumph than the messy human cost of ambition.

Godfather of Harlem2019

A prestige crime saga with operatic scope, starring Denzel Washington's son as a charismatic drug lord navigating 1960s New York. Gorgeously shot, morally complicated, propulsive storytelling.

But Occasionally indulges in glamorizing its criminal protagonist. The pacing can slacken between set pieces.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Trust

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Godfather Part III1990

Both are operatic examinations of wealth, family obligation, and the spiritual death that comes from choosing money over people. Each asks: can you escape a dynasty, or does it own you forever?

Michael Corleone attempting atonement through legitimate business while dragged back into criminality. A meditation on legacy, family corruption, and the impossibility of escape that mirrors Getty's dynastic rot.

But The third film divides even devoted fans; some find it a bloated coda that dilutes the saga. The infamous casting choice (Sofia Coppola) remains distracting to many viewers.

American Crime Story2016

A meticulously constructed true-crime narrative told backward, revealing character through investigation. Visually sumptuous, psychologically acute, and genuinely tragic rather than sensationalized.

But Demands patience with a non-linear structure. Some viewers find the focus on the killer's psychology rather than the victim's life uncomfortable.

MINDHUNTER2017

The birth of criminal psychology as investigative tool, told through FBI profilers wrestling with institutional resistance. Intellectually rigorous, tense, and anchored by two excellent lead performances.

But Methodical procedural pacing means it's more cerebral than thrilling. The second season's direction shift disappointed devoted fans.

The Knick2014

A surgical drama set in 1900s New York that moves like a fever dream: stylish, visceral, darkly funny. Steven Soderbergh's directorial control turns hospital politics into operatic stakes.

But Deliberately disorienting visual language isn't for everyone. The show was abruptly cancelled after two seasons, leaving storylines unresolved.

Bloodline2015

A family reckoning set in the Florida Keys, built on tension and secrets. Kyle Chandler is magnificent as a man watching his world collapse beneath the weight of accumulated lies.

But The narrative momentum slows considerably after the first season. Some plot developments feel contrived rather than organic.

Halt and Catch Fire2014

A beautifully written saga about ambition, innovation, and the human cost of creation in 1980s tech. Character-driven without sacrificing momentum, and the ensemble grows richer with time.

But Slow-burn sensibility means early episodes require patience. The technical details of computing history aren't inherently dramatic to everyone.

The Plot Against America2020

A historical counterfactual miniseries about American fascism told through one family's fractured experience. Thoughtful, claustrophobic, and genuinely unsettling without becoming didactic.

But The pacing is deliberately unhurried. Some find the alternate-history premise more interesting conceptually than dramatically executed.

All the Money in the World2017

Both dramatize the 1973 Getty III kidnapping from different angles—Trust dwells in family trauma, this film in the mechanical absurdity of ransom negotiation. Watching both reveals what each chose to emphasize.

A film about the same kidnapping told as a thriller focused on negotiation and the absurdity of Getty Sr.'s refusal. Taut, cleverly constructed, and remarkably entertaining given its grim subject.

But Ridley Scott's approach is more procedural than character-driven. The narrative momentum occasionally comes at the cost of emotional depth, and the reshoots show.

Lean on Pete2018

Where Trust examines how excessive wealth corrodes humanity, this film shows the same spiritual death through its opposite: deprivation and abandonment. Both argue money—too much or too little—destroys family bonds.

A quiet, devastating film about economic desperation masquerading as a coming-of-age story. Andrew Haigh's direction finds poetry in American precarity and the kindness of strangers—a tonal inverse of Getty wealth.

But Relentlessly bleak without catharsis or resolution. The pacing is glacial, and the refusal to sentimentalize its protagonist's suffering alienates viewers seeking uplift.