Reality TV gone rogue: unpacking the crime and corruption of 'Trainwreck: P.I. Moms'

The phrase "truth is stranger than fiction" forms the premise of the new documentary, “Trainwreck: P.I. Moms”, where real-life events were so dramatic that they could easily pass as a telenovela.

The Netflix series, which premiered in July, is one of the latest in the streaming giant’s “Trainwreck” franchise.

But this offering stands out for its shock value as it centres around working moms whose noble desire to inspire women across the globe, as the show notes, was “to undo the deeds of a few men.”

This explosive doccie has also been captivating viewers with its harrowing tale of rampant criminal activities, internal sabotage and police corruption as it delivers a neatly compressed but highly entertaining rollercoaster ride.

Directed by Phil Bowman, “Trainwreck: P.I. Moms” takes viewers back to the early 2010s.

Amid the reality television boom following the monumental success of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” and “The Real Housewives” franchise, the Lifetime network greenlit a reality TV series about San Francisco mothers, Michelle Allen, Charmagne Peters, Denise Antoon, and Ami Wilt, who were working as private investigators.

The soccer moms were all likeable characters, and they each had heartfelt and inspiring personal reasons for getting into the industry.

The network, which hired acclaimed showrunner Lucas Platt, also believed that the manner in which the ladies balanced motherhood could empower other women.

Their dangerous work at Private Investigations, Inc., which included undercover operations and busting criminals, also saw them featured in “People” as well as “The Today Show” and “Dr. Phil.”

With the attention from Lifetime, which saw the series having massive viral potential as well as possible franchise options, the moms agreed to be in the show.

They only had one condition - that the reality series would focus on inspiring storytelling, instead of pitting women against each other. 

Lifetime agreed with this perspective and hired a crew to start shooting. The moms were thrilled to get started, with filming for the pilot getting off to an emotional start as one of the women detailed the harrowing death of her son while she was getting a tattoo in his honour.

But that’s basically where any positivity ended, and what followed was chaos and mayhem.

The cracks at the firm began to show with the first problem being Carl Marino, the agency’s director of operations, whose desire to be a star resulted in him pleading with producers for him to be a main character.

Marino was so enraged when they refused that he tipped off a suspect that the moms were about to bust while the crew were filming.

Even more sinister was that Marino had a secret operation going with the firm’s founder, Chris Butler, who was also a main character in the Lifetime series. With a law enforcement background, he was celebrated for hiring women and giving them such a platform.

He initially presented himself as a passionate professional, but soon into filming, producers noted his awkward nature but didn't think much of it.

But unbeknownst to them, the firm’s clients, the moms working there, and the world at large, Butler and Marino had a shady side hustle which saw them working with a crooked cop to resell drugs that had been seized as evidence by the police.

To make matters worse, this scandal was brought to light by a reporter, who, after doing some investigative work on the firm following a tip-off.

These explosive revelations, which went on to make international headlines at the time, resulted in the reality show being canned before it even aired.

With the men behind bars, the ordeal also tarnished the moms' reputations and even decades later, they are still being blamed for criminal activities they were not even aware of.

The personal accounts from the mothers on the devastating impact this had had on their lives were one of the most poignant parts of the documentary.

This and other interviews done with the 'P.I. Moms', Pete Crooks, a senior writer at “Diablo” magazine who broke the story about the firm’s corruption, as well as District Attorney Daryl Jackson, who worked on the case, also brought fascinating insights to this multifaceted and intriguing story.

* I give it 3 out of 5 stars.