Exploring Frauds: The Talented Suranne Jones Presents An Exceptional Acting in A Triumphant Con Artist Series

How would you respond if your most reckless companion from your teenage years got back in touch? Imagine if you were dying of cancer and had nothing to lose? Consider if you were plagued by remorse for getting your friend imprisoned 10 years ago? If you were the one she landed in the clink and your release was granted to succumb to illness in her care? If you used to be a almost unstoppable pair of scam artists who retained a stash of disguises from your prime and a longing to feel some excitement again?

All this and more are the questions that Frauds, an original series featuring Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker, flings at us on a exhilarating, intense six-part ride that follows two conwomen bent on pulling off one last job. Echoing a recent project, Jones co-created this with her collaborator, and it retains similar qualities. Much like a suspense-driven structure served as a backdrop to the psychodramas gradually unveiled, here the grand heist Jones’ character Roberta (Bert) has meticulously arranged in prison after learning her prognosis is the vehicle for a deep dive into companionship, deceit, and affection in every variation.

Bert is released into the care of Sam (Whittaker), who lives nearby in the Andalucían hills. Remorse prevented her from ever visiting Bert, but she remained nearby and avoided scams without her – “Rather insensitive with you in prison for a job I messed up.” And to prepare for Bert’s, albeit short, freedom, she has purchased numerous undergarments, because there are many ways for women companions to show repentance and a classic example is the purchase of “a big lady-bra” after a decade of uncomfortable institutional clothing.

Sam aims to continue maintaining her peaceful existence and care for Bert until her passing. Bert possesses different plans. And when your daftest friend has other ideas – well, you often find yourself going along. Their old dynamic gradually reasserts itself and Bert’s plans are already in motion by the time she lays out the full blueprint for the robbery. The series experiments with chronology – to good rather than eye-rolling effect – to present key scenes initially and then the explanations. So we watch the pair slipping jewellery and watches from affluent attendees at a funeral – and acquiring a gilded religious artifact because why wouldn’t you if you could? – before removing their hairpieces and reversing their funeral attire to transform into vibrant outfits as they stride out and down the church steps, awash with adrenaline and loot.

They require the stolen goods to fund the plan. This involves hiring a document expert (with, unknown to the pair, a betting addiction that is likely to draw unwanted attention) in the form of illusionist’s aide Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington), who possesses the necessary skills to assist in swapping the target painting (a renowned Dali painting at a prominent gallery). They also enlist feminist art collector Celine (Kate Fleetwood), who focuses on works by artists depicting female subjects. She is as ruthless as any of the gangsters their accomplice and the funeral theft are drawing towards them, including – most perilously of all – their old boss Miss Take (Talisa Garcia), a contemporary crime lord who had them running scams for her since their youth. She reacted poorly to the pair’s assertion of themselves as independent conwomen so unresolved issues remain in that area.

Unexpected developments are layered between deepening revelations about Bert and Sam’s history, so you get all the satisfactions of a sophisticated heist tale – carried out with immense energy and admirable willingness to skate over rampant absurdities – plus a mesmerisingly intricate portrait of a bond that is potentially as harmful as Bert’s cancer but equally difficult to eradicate. Jones gives perhaps her finest and most complex performance yet, as the damaged, resentful Bert with her lifetime pursuit of excitement to distract from the gnawing pain within that has nothing to do with metastasising cells. Whittaker stands with her, delivering excellent acting in a slightly less interesting part, and alongside the writers they craft a fantastically stylish, deeply moving and highly insightful work of art that is inherently empowering devoid of lecturing and in every way a triumph. Eagerly awaiting future installments.