Released just four days apart, Netflix and Hulu both produced their own documentary of the infamous Fyre Festival. Both documentaries covered the basic story, but each told it in a unique way, with different interviews, details and videos — to varying degrees of success.
Billy McFarland, the co-founder of Fyre Festival, worked with rapper Ja Rule to create the “Fyre” brand. Both believed this music festival, set to take place on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma, would launch their brand. The popularity of Fyre Festival spread via social media. McFarland and Rule recruited influencers such as Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid to “spread Fyre.”
The timeline they had to organize this festival was incredibly short — basically impossible. There was barely any infrastructure and all the bands set to perform ended up cancelling. McFarland was eventually sentenced to six years in prison for fraud.
After all was said and done and both documentaries were released, I pitted Netflix and Hulu against each other to see who tells the tumultuous tale better.
Fyre Fraud — Hulu
Pros
The main advantage Hulu has over Netflix is their interview with McFarland. He speaks on the controversy firsthand and provides insight into his thought process throughout the debacle. Fyre Fraud is fast-paced — it gets right to the action and disaster.
The Hulu documentary digs into McFarland’s character, starting with his childhood and past entrepreneurial ventures. They even interview his girlfriend. At the end of the documentary, McFarland’s compulsive dishonesty is revealed by showing all the times he lied just during his interview.
Cons
Hulu paid McFarland for his interview, which is ethically dubious, to say the least. And if you’re more interested in the festival rather than McFarland, skip 30 minutes in. The beginning focuses on his background, millennial influence and social media.
Some build-up would have been nice, instead of how the result is explained at the beginning. The focus on McFarland adds a unique element, but it loses the voices of the other people hurt by the festival — voices that should have been included to round out the story.
Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened — Netflix
Pros
Netflix tells the story through a long build-up, creating an overarching and intense storyline. Because they don’t explain the full story at first, it’s exciting to anticipate how it will end, especially for the (very few) viewers who don’t know what happened.
The documentary primarily consists of footage of the Bahamas, the setup, partying beforehand and the disaster during the festival. The visual aspect of the storytelling is one of the best parts of Fyre. Netflix does an amazing job of portraying the Bahamians involved and what they lost after all of this — something Hulu doesn’t do.
Cons
Fyre does not crack the character of McFarland. The documentary makes the festival founder seem unattainable and distant, whereas Hulu introduces him to the viewers. The interviewees are important to the story, but many people close to McFarland are not interviewed.
The Bahamian shots are beautiful and paint a picture of Fyre Festival, but make the documentary slow at times. A few times I was tempted to skip ahead and see what happens in the end. Fyre needs more action and excitement right from the beginning. It was also produced by Jerry Media, which did all the social media for the festival.
Conclusion
Hulu is the winner. McFarland’s character is fascinating and the documentary held my attention the entire time. Still, though, Netflix and Hulu provide different details and sides of the story. If you have the time, watch both.
