Anatomy of Lies trailer: See the docuseries about the shocking Grey's Anatomy writer's lies

Grey’s Anatomy fans are eager for the new season, but before that, Peacock is looking at a shocking behind-the-scenes tale of the hit drama! Here’s what you need to know about Anatomy of Lies!

Fans of Grey’s Anatomy know all about the shocking twists and turns the show takes with plotlines that often seem too crazy to believe. But it turns out that one of the most outlandish and outrageous storylines ever wasn’t on screen but happened in real life. 

In 2015, Elisabeth R. Finch was a popular TV writer, having worked on The Vampire Diaries and True Blood (thus nicknamed “Vampire Girl.”) She was hired for Grey’s Anatomy, soon working her way up to writing 13 episodes and even guest-starred as a nurse in the acclaimed 2019 episode "Silent All These Years."

What got Finch the job was her moving piece in Elle magazine about her experiences with a rare type of bone cancer. She also wrote of surviving a sexual assault, losing a kidney, and needing a knee replacement. In fact, the plotline of Catherine (Debbie Allen) facing cancer was inspired by Finch’s own experiences with her seen as a great friend to her fellow writers. She’d show up to work despite illness, her brother’s suicide, and losing her friend in a mass shooting in Pittsburgh.

As it turned out, Finch’s greatest fiction was herself. After she left the show in 2022, a Vanity Fair piece exposed the shocking truth that Finch had lied about nearly everything in her life. She never had cancer, her brother was very much alive, and she’d deliberately shaved her head and wore makeup to look sick on set. 

Naturally, Finch was fired and has since become an exile in Hollywood. Her few interviews have had her trying to defend her actions on just getting some attention and it snowballed out of control. Now, Peacock is ready to tackle this stunning tale in a new docuseries.

See Elisabeth R. Finch’s lies exposed in Anatomy of Lies

Premiering on Peacock on Tuesday, Oct. 15, Anatomy of Lies is a three-part docuseries examining the stunning tale of Finch. It talks to the people close to her from the writers room and especially her ex-wife, Jennifer Beyer, who was the first to see through Finch’s lies. 

It doesn’t sound like Finch herself takes part (unless it’s a surprise appearance) as the trailer focuses on how she pulled off the con with the various people amazed they missed all the clues before them something wasn’t right. Not surprisingly, we don’t get Shonda Rhimes or any of the Grey’s actors to talk about it, but we do get a lot of others chiming in. 

"The docuseries reveals how Finch, a master of manipulation, saved her best fiction for her own life story and exploited the empathy of those around her. Her final mark was trauma survivor Jennifer Beyer, who entrusted Finch with her deepest secrets. But as Beyer uncovers the web of lies that deceived Hollywood for years, she faces a daunting challenge: can she reclaim the narrative from a convincing storyteller who showed no signs of stopping?"

The series appears to be a stunning look at a tale that puts anything on Grey’s Anatomy to shame and proves once more how real life is truly stranger than fiction.

Anatomy of Lies premieres Tuesday, Oct. 15 on Peacock.