''Madoff'' is a 2016 American television

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. " Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries forma ...

written by Ben Robbins, inspired by Brian Ross' book ''The Madoff Chronicles'', about the

Madoff investment scandal The Madoff investment scandal was a major case of stock and securities fraud discovered in late 2008. In December of that year, Bernie Madoff, the former NASDAQ chairman and founder of the Wall Street firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities ...

. The Madoff investment scandal was a fraud scheme perpetrated by

Bernie Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDAQ ...

, a former

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks and ...

investment advisor A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

, and financier. He is the former non-executive chairman of the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

stock market and the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered the largest financial fraud in U.S. history. The miniseries aired over two nights, February 3 and 4, 2016, on ABC.

Cast and characters

Main

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including ''American Graffiti'' (1973), '' Jaws'' (1975), ''Close Encounters of the ...

Blythe Danner Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzy Huffstodt on '' Huff'' (2004–2006), and a ...

Ruth Madoff Ruth Madoff ( ; Alpern; born May 18, 1941) is the widow of Bernie Madoff, the convicted American financial fraudster who served a prison sentence for a criminal financial scheme until his death in April 2021. After her husband's arrest for his ...

Peter Scolari Peter Thomas Scolari (September 12, 1955 – October 22, 2021) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Michael Harris on ''Newhart'' (1984–1990), Henry Desmond on '' Bosom Buddies'' (1980–1982) and Wayne Szalinski on '' Ho ...

as Peter Madoff * Frank Whaley as

Harry Markopolos Harry M. Markopolos (born October 22, 1956) is an American former securities industry executive and a forensic accounting and financial fraud investigator. From 1999 to 2008, Markopolos uncovered evidence that suggested that Bernie Madoff's wea ...

Michael Rispoli Michael Rispoli is an American character actor. He was a contender for the role of Tony Soprano in the HBO television series ''The Sopranos,'' but was ultimately cast as Jackie Aprile, a recurring character in the show’s first season. Rispo ...

as Frank DiPascali *

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series '' Lewi ...

as Gregory Perkins * Tom Lipinski as

Mark Madoff Mark David Madoff ( ; March 11, 1964 – December 11, 2010) was an American financier, best known for his role in exposing the multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme committed by his father, Bernie Madoff. Personal life Madoff was born and raised ...

* Danny Deferrari as

Andrew Madoff Andrew Madoff ( ; April 8, 1966 – September 3, 2014) was an American financier, best known for his role in exposing the financial crimes of his father, Bernie Madoff, whose Ponzi scheme has been widely described as the most successful in history ...

* Erin Cummings as Eleanor Squillari * Annie Heise as Stephanie Mikesell * Michael Bryan French as Blake North *

David Margulies David Joseph Margulies (February 19, 1937 – January 11, 2016) was an American actor. Early life Margulies was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Runya (''née'' Zeltzer), a nurse and museum employee, and Harry David Margulies, a la ...

Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in Fr ...

* Liz Larsen as Sheryl Weinstein * Jason Kravits as Frank Avellino *

Bruce Altman Bruce Altman (born July 3, 1955) is an American film and television actor. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. Early life Altman was born in The Bronx, New York. He is of Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish ...

as Gary Flumenbaum *

David Aaron Baker David Aaron Baker (born August 14, 1963) is an American actor whose credits stretch across theater, film, television and audiobooks. Biography On Broadway, he is most prominently known for his starring role as "Prince Dauntless" opposite Sarah ...

as Nathan Rubenstein *

Charles Grodin Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including '' The Virginian''. After a small part ...

as Carl J. Shapiro * Jamie Carroll as

Shana Madoff Shana Diane Madoff ( ; born December 8, 1967), sometimes referred to as Shana Madoff Skoller Swanson, is an American former attorney who is now a yoga teacher. She is the daughter of Peter Madoff, and a niece of Bernie Madoff, who employed her ...

* Jack Koenig as Grant Ward

Other

* Lyne Renee as Catherine Hooper * Ben Dreyfuss as Young Bernie Madoff * Stephen Gevedon as Bob Jaffe * Suzanne H. Smart as Annette Bongiorno *

Daniel Gerroll Daniel Gerroll (born 16 October 1951) is an English theatre, television and film actor. Life and career Gerroll was born in London, the son of Kathleen Cordelia (née Norman), a fashion model, and Harry Gerroll, a clothing designer. Gerroll h ...

as Rene De La Villehuchet * Scott Barry as Bernie Madoff's Driver

Episodes

Reception

The miniseries has received favorable reviews from critics. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it holds a 61/100 rating based on 25 reviews. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, it has an approval rating of 68% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "''Madoff'' boasts a knockout performance from Richard Dreyfuss, whose obvious enjoyment of the role helps make up for the miniseries' surplus of polish and overall lack of perspective."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Madoff investment scandal American Broadcasting Company original programming English-language television shows Television series by ABC Studios Biographical films about fraudsters Madoff investment scandal 2010s American drama television miniseries 2016 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings Films about con artists Cultural depictions of Bernie Madoff Films directed by Raymond De Felitta