For decades, Italian pharmaceutical heir Maurizio Mian perpetrated an elaborate ruse, claiming to be the caretaker of a fabulously wealthy line of German Shepherds named Gunther.

Journalists from Miami to Rome were suckered by the story, including Mian's claims over the years that the dog had purchased Madonna's Florida mansion, owned an Italian soccer team, and ran a nightclub in Pisa.

In the series, filmmakers Aurelien Leturgie and Emilie Dumay peel back the layers of Mian's farcical claims and outrageous showmanship, revealing him as a tragi-comic figure who has battled with depression for much of his life.

The docuseries reveals how Mian filled the home with attractive young models, who supposedly all worked for Gunther, as part of a pseudo-scientific research project to uncover the key to happiness.

Throughout these fantastical exploits, Mian continued his so-called research into human happiness, a pursuit he frankly admits in the series was fueled by his own struggles with depression and mental illness.

German Shepherd Gunther VI sits on a lavish round, red velvet bed overlooking Biscayne Bay in the house formally owned Madonna