Is 'A Man in Full' a true story? What to know on the latest Netflix series

If "Man in Full" is your latest binge, you'll undoubtedly want to know if the new Netflix series is based on real-life events.

Fair question given the show's main character, Charlie Croker, feels like a thinly-veiled nod to any number of real-life business moguls featured in the headlines of grocery-store tabloids.

Played by Jeff Daniels, Croker, a former college football hero turned wealthy Atlanta billionaire, is on the verge of bankruptcy and desperate to hang onto his lavish life, which includes private jets and sprawling ranches, not to mention Shania Twain, who's been commissioned to perform at his over-the-top birthday party.

Croker's life derails when his bank calls in the loan for his nearly billion-dollar debt during a meeting in which the bankers not only mock Croker's "saddlebags," the large rings of sweat that develop around his armpits when he's anxious, but gleefully threaten to repossess everything the southern businessman owns.

Caught up in the affair are Croker's ex-wife, her best friend, his son, lawyer, the Mayor of Atlanta and a host of others whose fates all become entangled in the process.

Based on a 1998 book published by acclaimed author, Tom Wolfe, you might be wondering if the six-episode series is based on fact or fiction and here's what you need to know.

Is Charlie Croker real?

Watching Daniels as Charlie Croker, it’s easy to believe that the larger-than-life billionaire is based on a real person, but “Man in Full” along with its characters, is pure fiction.

Acclaimed author Tom Wolfe, who died at the age of 88 in 2018, is known for his books satirizing high society and greed. Included among them are “The Bonfires of the Vanities” and “Man in Full.”

Adapted for television, "Man in Full" is penned by veteran producer and writer, David E. Kelley (“Big Little Lies,” “The Lincoln Lawyer”), and directed by Regina King, who told USA TODAY that Daniels was the perfect choice for the role.

“Even if he’s fictional, Charlie Croker is a much-loathed human being,” King said. “For the audience to take the series ride, it has to be someone they trust. That’s Jeff, who was down to take that swing.”

It’s undeniable that Croker is positively loathsome, yet it’s hard to not to root for his success in the chess game he plays with Peepgrass, his ex, as well as Croker's bid to lure an investor to bail him out during a misguided visit to his horse ranch.

Calling Croker’s character both “repugnant and contagious,” David E. Kelley tells USA TODAY that, “We repel against him, and yet somehow we relate to him and feel for him.”

What is “Man in Full” about?

Two-time Emmy-winner Daniels leads an all-star ensemble cast in the new Netflix series including Diane Lane (“Under the Tuscan Sun” and “Unfaithful”) and Lucy Liu (“Charlie’s Angels”), who portray Croker's ex-wife, Martha, and her close pal, Joyce Newman, an entrepreneur with her own agenda.

Sarah Jones ("For All Mankind") stars as Croker's current trophy wife, Serena, who unsuccessfully attempts to keep her larger-than-life husband in check.

Nominated for an Emmy for his turn as Ben Davis in the Netflix series "Ozark," Tom Pelphrey stars opposite Daniels as smarmy Raymond Peepgrass, a wealth-obsessed banker whose sole mission is to take down Croker at whatever cost.

In the midst of Croker’s epic bank battle, his pregnant assistant, Jill Hensley (Chanté Adams), is facing her own dilemma after her husband, Conrad (Jon Michael Hill), is arrested for assaulting a police officer over a parking snafu that turns violet.

Roger White (Aml Ameen), Croker’s lawyer, takes on the case, while simultaneously helping his boss hatch a scheme to keep his money.

Much like Wolfe’s other novels, the lives of all the characters eventually intersect in “Man in Full,” in an exploration of greed, morality and race relations.

“A Man in Full” is currently streaming on Netflix.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com