Say hello to your favorite celebrities, all from the comfort of your couch.
Many new celebrity documentaries have been released onto streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and Apple TV. These documentaries showcase stars as they go about their lives beyond the stage and screen. Some even chose to delve into personal topics including family issues, addiction and mental health struggles.
Some students from Sacred Heart University gave their opinion on why they think these documentaries are so popular.
“I think one of the biggest reasons why that content is so popular is because they show the in-depth lives of celebrities that we don’t personally know,” said Film Club president Dillon Benison. “It makes the viewer feel that they know that celebrity and they know how they live their day to day lives just like everybody else.”
According to Apple, Billie Eilish is an example of a celebrity who recently had her own documentary filmed and placed onto Apple TV+ for viewing. The documentary is titled “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” and was released on Feb. 26.
According to USA Today, The documentary is a mixture of Eilish’s personal life along with “the making of her Grammy-dominating debut album ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’”
Another documentary highly anticipated by fans of the “Sorry Not Sorry” singer Demi Lovato is, “Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil.” According to The New York Times, the star’s drug addiction, relapse and overdose will be explored and “released on YouTube in four episodes starting March 23.”
“Demi Lovato was one of the many celebrities this generation grew up with. To share her struggle is astonishing, brave, and empowering to anyone who might be silently struggling with an addiction,” said sophomore Annie Wunsch. “To speak freely about her eating disorders to her audience of women, is incredibly influential, letting them know that they are not alone in their journey to recovery.”
According to The New York Times, “Miss Americana” is a documentary previously released onto Netflix in 2020 and follows popular singer and songwriter Taylor Swift. The viewers are given intimate details about Swift’s life and behind the scenes footage from her on-stage performances.
A New York Times review of the documentary says, “In the Netflix documentary, we see a star that is self-critical, grown up and ready, perhaps, to deliver a message beyond the music.”
Longtime celebrity Britney Spears caused a heavy reaction from both devoted fans and unfamiliar viewers, after announcing earlier this year that her own documentary would be coming out in February.
According to Glamour Magazine, the documentary “Framing Britney Spears,” available for streaming on Hulu, “explores the pop star’s 28-year career and her father, Jamie Spears’, status as her conservator – something which Britney tried to overthrow to no success in 2020.”
A popular documentary released in 2020 was, “Shawn Mendes: In Wonder” which chronicles the singer’s rise to fame in the last few years. The film is available for streaming on Netflix.
A review by Common Sense Media describes the documentary saying, “If “Shawn Mendes: In Wonder” is to be believed, the award-winning artist is just a hometown boy from suburban Toronto who loves music.”
Many news outlets and reporters have covered the popularity of celebrity documentaries, writing articles and filming YouTube videos talking about which star’s film is a “must watch.”
“It is intriguing to watch someone so famous seem so normal and I think that’s what people love to see,” said Benison.
