Wicked Game: The Devil in the Desert: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

After a sheriff's deputy found a woman zip-tied and frantic on the side of the road in the Mojave Desert in 2012, authorities discovered this may have been a grisly crime in pursuit of a suspected buried treasure. This discovery kicked off a years-long investigation that spanned sting operations, an international search, a prison break captured on cellphone, and a courtroom showdown between lead prosecutor Matt Murphy and the man authorities believed was pulling the strings in a twisted game of greed and violence — Hossein Nayeri. 

Set during the early days of medical marijuana, Wicked Game: Devil in the Desert is a gripping three-part docuseries told through intimate access inside the case and to those who lived the story unlike any other. The docuseries showcases rare evidence stills, body cam and dash cam videos of gripping key moments, recorded police interviews with the victims and suspects, and features new interviews with the lead prosecutor and deputy counsel and the lead detective on the case. The series also incorporates "20/20"'s groundbreaking past reporting on the case, including archival interviews with victims and Nayeri, the so-called mastermind himself.

Series details

• Title: Wicked Game: The Devil in the Desert
• Format: Documentary
• Genres: Crime
• Premiere date: 2025-02-04
• Status in TVmaze: Running
• Web channel listed by TVmaze: Hulu
• Network country: United States
• TVMaze ID: 82318

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2025-02-04; final listed air date 2025-02-04; episode order: 3.

Source and licence

Adapted from Wicked Game: The Devil in the Desert on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.