Mazher Mahmood’s true story is so rich, improbable, and dramatic, that it almost seems like a movie. It’s certainly edited like one. The Fake Sheikh is filled with quotable one-liners and thrilling reenactments, and at the center of it all is the compelling anti-hero, Mahmood. Director Ceri Isfryn does a commendable job of balancing the facts about her controversial subject, interviewing both Mahmood’s champions and critics, colleagues and victims, while also interweaving narratives of race and class into his story. After all, this is a man who was initially denied the chance to cover anything other than race and immigration, and so he carved his own (warped) path as a celebrity journalist. There are times when it seems like Isfryn tips the scales a bit to favor Mahmood, but it all falls in line with her movie narrative. The Fake Sheikh is just as enthralling as any good fictional thriller out there.

It’s intriguing how, after all that he’s been through, Mahmood still remains in hiding and still limits his footprint in the world. The docuseries can only reuse the same blurred photograph of Mahmood before it starts to feel repetitive, hence the reenactments. But this just begs the question, is Mahmood still out there pretending to be the Sheikh? Does he have other characters and disguises he slips into? For what? That in itself is a mystery worth exploring.