Overview: HBO’s CATCH AND KILL: THE PODCAST TAPES, a six-part, half-hour documentary series directed by Emmy winners Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, brings to life journalist Ronan Farrow’s intimate, revealing interviews with whistleblowers, journalists, private investigators and other sources, conducted for the Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist’s podcast and bestselling book “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and A Conspiracy to Protect Predators.” All three media outlets outlined the testimony and case 
against the once-famed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The series expands on the podcast and the book, with never-before-seen footage and new insights into this culture-shaking story. With fresh perspectives and detail, not just on the harrowing effort to expose one powerful predator, but on the systems that help cover up terrible crimes to this day — there are revelations in this series that may surprise even those familiar with the reporting. Debut Date: July 12, 2021.
Expectations: Though Weinstein’s days before court are not yet over, I appreciate, at this time, to sit back from afar and assess what all transpired in relation to him and his less-than-satisfactory business behavior. I did not read Farrow’s book or listen to his podcasts, but I am fully aware of the newsworthy case they examine. Driving the point home, then, is this HBO companion series of six half-hour segments. Again, it will be good to sit from afar and reevaluate the whole affair.
Before I even dive into this work, there is one portion of the press release about this series, and seen above in my Overview, that really struck me. We are all familiar, especially by now, with the long-reaching and vile influence Mr. Weinstein had over people, enough so to name him a “powerful predator” and worse. That is all heinous enough. But then to learn of “the systems that help cover up terrible crimes to this day” was a double gut punch. I think that is an angle to this story that I’m going to lean into. Unfortunately, there are evil, manipulative persons in society, but to have industries try to cover up those crimes or even authorities to try to cover up those crimes because a scandal that huge is better left suppressed is just the icing on the cake. So, before I even see CATCH AND KILL: THE PODCAST TAPES, I say kudos to those survivors, witnesses and Farrow for taking a stand for what is right & just.
Gut Reaction: So, going in it is obvious I had a fast emotional reaction and it is not even because I know anyone even close to any predators like Weinstein. The story unfolds in six installments and I look at each in turn.
Episode 1: “The Wire” – Filipina-Italian model Ambra Gutierrez reveals the high-stakes police sting operation that captured a chilling admission from Harvey Weinstein—and her plan to preserve the evidence after authorities declined to prosecute.
What? They could have had this predator right then and there. But it took a lot more to bring him down.
Episode 2: “The Reporters” – Veteran The New Yorker reporter Ken Auletta and The Hollywood Reporter writer Kim Masters discuss their years-long quests to reveal the “open secret” of Weinstein’s behavior, and the roadblocks that stalled their efforts.
Again, I’m just stymied by how much power & control Weinstein had over everybody, literally everybody. Even top journalists could not get any allegations to stick. They tried to generate damning accounts of his actions, but it wasn’t enough to but a stop to his actions.
Episode 3: “The Assistants” – A former assistant at Weinstein’s company, Rowena Chiu, speaks out about her experiences with Weinstein’s predation, the difficult choices she and fellow assistant Zelda Perkins made to try to hold him accountable, and her decision to remain silent for decades.
So, he wasn’t just pursuing potential starlets but assistants as well. As in a lot of cases, though, years of silence are not uncommon. The fear of being outed and ashamed weighs on the mind, as well as the thought of any dangerous consequences for speaking out. Weinstein had Rowena Chiu so intimidated that he could even get her to come back to Miramax to watch over her and have her sign an NDA. He shouldn’t have been this hard to take down, damn it.
Episode 4: “The Producer” – Rich McHugh discusses producing the story with Farrow at NBC News, interviewing Rose McGowan and numerous other sources on camera, and his dawning realization that the reporting was being shut down behind the scenes.
Even mainstream, credible news could not bring this man down. Still keeping abreast of the accusers, and laying on the pressures kept Weinstein in control. Stifling any chance of allegations getting aired should not have been within his power, yet it was. He was onto Farrow’s investigations and Rose McGowan’s testimony as it related to his behavior. It is unbelievable the reach this man’s power held.
Episode 5: “The Editors” – The New Yorker editors David Remnick and Deirdre Foley-Mendelssohn, attorney Fabio Bertoni and Fact Checkers Tammy Kim and Fergus McIntosh discuss the arduous process of verifying the details of the story, while fending off legal threats from Weinstein’s camp.
When the NBC News story got squelched, that is when Farrow switched to stating his findings in print form via The New Yorker. It was crucial that every fact was sound, every “T” crossed and every “i” dotted. Their jobs were at stake because there seemed to be no limit to Weinstein’s reach. Finally, the story was published, and Weinstein was fully exposed, and the #MeToo movement took off.
Episode 6: “The Spy” – Undercover spy Igor Ostrovsky talks about being hired to track and gather intelligence on Farrow, and the unexpected turn of events that prompted him to become Farrow’s source. The Citizen Lab’s John Scott-Railton also talks about the rise of private espionage and its consequences, as well as efforts to combat it.
The final installment isn’t solely about the main story, but is still quite interesting. Farrow learned that Weinstein had an international surveillance squad shadowing him by hiring local spies. That once again verified Weinstein’s reach. The spy was never out to kill Farrow, but still, the pressure to silence him was real. Farrow talked about how the power of the free press was being challenged and many journalists were being silenced, but Ronan Farrow’s story exposing Harvey Weinstein got out, and the story of his victims was heard.
In Conclusion: I appreciated this documentary. I know I sound like a broken record, but I was astounded by the reach & power Weinstein had. We can only applaud his victims for coming forward and for Ronan Farrow’s persistence in getting the story out. Unfortunately, the Weinstein story isn’t over, as he is still in the news to this day, even as he serves prison time. Do you need a good encapsulation of the investigation? Then watch CATCH AND KILL: THE PODCAST TAPES.
