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Simon Cowell: The Next Act has been called ‘dated, derivative and as flat as his hairdo’ in a number of scathing reviews – and critics have accused the music mogul of ‘rehashing The X Factor for the billionth time’ with the brand new Netflix documentary.
The six-part series, which follows the record executive try and find the next big boyband, landed on the streaming service on Wednesday 10 December.
Over the years, Simon has created a number of successful groups and solo artists, including One Direction, Little Mix, Susan Boyle and Westlife – which are all down to shows such as ITV‘s X Factor and the Got Talent franchise.
But will The Next Act be able to find talent just like those previously mentioned?
On the show, Simon is joined on-screen by his wife Lauren Silverman, 48, – who he married in 2013 – as well as a number of music industry professionals.
The likes of Savan Kotecha, Kamille, Poo Bear, Pete Waterman and Robert Stevenson appear on the doc alongside the entrepreneur.
Simon Cowell : The Next Act has been called ‘dated, derivative and as flat as his hairdo’ in a number of SCATCHING reviews – and critics have accused the music mogul of ‘rehashing The X Factor for the billionth time’ with the brand new Netflix documentary
The six-part series, which follows the record executive try and find the next big boyband, landed on the streaming service on Wednesday 10 December
On the show, Simon is joined on-screen by his wife Lauren Silverman, 48 (pictured) – who he married in 2013 – as well as a number of music industry professionals
Netflix’s synopsis reads: ‘Simon Cowell is looking for the next hit boy band. And he’s risking it all to find them.
‘Will these young singers prove he’s still got the Midas touch?’
Many have already binge-watched the docu-series, including a number of critics, and they have shared what they think about it.
Metro‘s Jon O’Brien writes: ‘It’s been four years since The X Factor was finally put out of its misery and a good dozen since its halcyon days, a period in which pop music, and its star-making methods, have significantly moved on from the bog-standard TV talent show.
‘Unfortunately, no one seems to have told Simon Cowell.’
Meanwhile The Telegraph‘s Anita Singh’s headline states: ‘Simon Cowell’s comeback series is as flat as his hairdo.’
She adds: ‘Netflix attempts to recapture that X Factor magic, but this vanity project feels dated and derivative.’
The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage describes the doc as ‘the billionth take on his one idea’.
Will Simon Cowell: The Next Act be able to find a boyband similar to Simon’s previous success stories such as One Direction?
He continues: ‘Now we know, for here comes the bait and switch. Even though it might be presented as a slice-of-life reality documentary, Simon Cowell: The Next Act is – wait for it – The X Factor. It’s literally just another bloody X Factor.
‘No, really. One minute Cowell is semi-candidly bickering with his partner, Lauren Silverman, the next he’s junked that entire facade to find a new boyband. He holds auditions.
‘He takes them to bootcamp. He uses pictures of their faces to decide who he wants to send home.
‘There are unbelievably weak sob stories (one contestant, and please ready the hankies for this, works at a Nando’s).
‘Short of Louis Walsh stumbling in to absent-mindedly take everything to deadlock, this is The X Factor. I cannot overstate this enough.
‘It’s Cowell’s one idea, for the billionth time, in slightly different clothes.’
Grazia‘s Nikki Peach says: ‘The toxic 2010s called, they want Simon Cowell back.’
She adds: ‘A few episodes later, it becomes apparent that Simon’s influence and relevancy has plummeted in the last decade; he’s pushing 70 and he wants to prove to himself (and his 11-year-old son) that ‘he’s still got it’. Ah-ha, there it is.
Over the years, Simon has created a number of successful groups and solo artists – which are down to shows such as ITV ‘s X Factor and the Got Talent franchise
‘Simon Cowell: The Next Act is a vanity project – and a glossy, big budget one at that. It’s as much about his next act as it is about finding the next big boyband. He always did have a way with words.’
Greg Wheeler at The Review Geek says that it’s ‘a dated vanity project dressed up as a revival.’
He writes: ‘Executively produced by Simon Cowell himself, the show unashamedly hammers you over the head with how success Cowell is and what a big deal he is (was).
‘The documentary side of things looks at Cowell’s past, the artists he’s worked with and how much the business means to him.
‘For obvious reasons, it sidesteps a lot of the allegations thrown his way from said artists.
‘There’s a dated quality to the show’s setup, even without the usual reality-TV tricks. Sure, Cowell throws out his familiar platitudes now and then, but there are no dramatic pauses, applause cues, or engineered tension.
‘Removing them helps, but it doesn’t modernise the bones of a creaking format.’
The Times‘ Carol Midgley writes: ‘The rise of K-pop has eclipsed the more traditional bands that used to emerge from The X Factor, the once hugely successful show that Cowell put out of its misery in 2018 when it began to feel dated and frankly an enormous chore. Now he wants to see if he’s still got it.
‘Cue much dramatic faux jeopardy talk, Cowell saying, “If it doesn’t work it would feel like the end of my career” and “Well, this is a disaster” when there initially isn’t much response to his nationwide invitation for young singers to apply.
‘This is the sort of fake peril they used to spoon-feed us on The X Factor. Cowell is actually X Factoring himself.
‘I must say I found the auditioning bits boring (fast forward if you feel the same; it’s lots of young men singing whiney songs), and Cowell himself much more interesting.
‘Oh, I know he is mocked for the Botox, the gleaming white teeth, the fact he once considered being cryogenically frozen after death and the jet ski that he obediently gives a spin for the camera, but I’ve always liked him.’