Defending Anna w/ Todd Spodek + Matt Byrne

Inventing Anna: The Official Podcast

For the last episode of the podcast, Stacey discusses Anna’s trial with her real life defense attorney, Todd Spodek. She also meets with Matt Byrne, who wrote the series finale, and who attended Anna’s trial as a representative from Shondaland and Netflix.

Anna’s defense attorney, Todd Spodek weighs in on the portrayal of his complex and ever evolving relationship with Anna, and on what the case meant to him personally. Anna was a difficult client at times, but she could also be profoundly charming and sweet. Todd reflects on the side of Anna he saw that he says no one else did. No one else except perhaps his good friend Jessica Pressler (Vivian’s character is based on Jessica). He talks about their friendship, his thought process behind Anna’s defense, what he thinks of his portrayal by Arian Moayed, and more.

Later in the episode, Matt Byrnes takes us inside the courtroom from his perspective, and reveals how the trial impacted the show’s ending. The trial was still ongoing as he and the rest of the writers were scripting the series. He gets into why they chose to make it a true story, “except for all the parts that are entirely made up,” and explains what his and Shonda’s intentions were behind the most crucial moments in the series and the finale.

To catch up before you listen, make sure you binge Inventing Anna the series on Netflix now.

Please rate, review, subscribe and share Inventing Anna: The Official Podcast with everyone you know.

Follow Todd @ToddSpodek on Twitter, and host Stacey Wilson Hunt @galinhollywood on Instagram and Twitter.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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1. How the Series has Changed Todd’s Life (00:01:17)

2. First Impressions of Anna (00:02:05)

3. When Jessica and Todd Meet (00:05:40)

4. The Truck-load of Discovery (00:10:10)

5. The Frank Sinatra Defense, Explained (00:13:19)

6. MIDROLL 1 (00:17:32)

7. Arguments with Anna at Court and Trial Style (00:17:56)

8. The “Park Cars for Other People” Line (00:22:34)

9. Thoughts on the Show (00:24:18)

10. Momentos from Anna (00:27:22)

11. Anna Sorokin vs. Anna Delvey (00:28:24)

12. MIDROLL 2 (00:30:22)

13. Matt’s Background in Journalism (00:30:44)

14. Story Structure (00:32:19)

15. Using Jessica’s Article as a Blueprint (00:33:38)

16. What Surprised Matt about Anna’s Story (00:35:32)

17. 102, Chase and Val (00:36:27)

18. Finding an Ending to the Series (00:38:29)

19. Comparing Real Todd and Character Todd (00:40:24)

20. What It Was Like At the Trial (00:42:40)

21. Writing the Show as the Trial is Still Going O (00:48:07)

22. The Final Scene between Vivian and Anna (00:49:50)

23. Outro (00:53:02)