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Season 1 – Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam 2024 Documentary Music Play Trailer Watchlist
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39% Tomatometer 18 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A chronicle of the rise and fall of music mogul Lou Pearlman, who created and allegedly exploited some of the top boy bands of the 1990s.
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Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam — Season 1

Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

The Boy Bad Scam has an interesting ballad to share but devotes one too many bars to the minutiae of Lou Pearlman's crimes, making for an uneven documentary that'll leave viewers feeling a little dirty.

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Critics Reviews

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Brian Tallerico RogerEbert.com How can something so beloved also be so painful to so many? Pearlman isn’t here to really answer that question, and the series can’t quite get there, even with their version of his own words. Rated: 2/4 Jul 26, 2024 Full Review Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times The real victims, of course, are all those people who lost everything to this con man, but there’s also something tragic about Pearlman’s downfall, which was entirely of his own doing and utterly unnecessary... Rated: 3/4 Jul 25, 2024 Full Review Craig Mathieson The Age (Australia) Celebrity aside, Pearlman’s fraud was extensive but hardly sophisticated, as is any hindsight here. The framing of this story is itself suspect. Rated: 2.5/5 Jul 25, 2024 Full Review Matt Neal ABC Radio (Australia) It will probably leave Backstreet Boys and NSYNC songs humming in your head for days to come, but don't let that dissuade you from checking out this excellent doco miniseries. And the AI use is clever and sensible - get over it. Rated: 4/5 Aug 12, 2024 Full Review Alison Lanier Pajiba What we end up with, despite a maze of interviews and nostalgia-igniting ’90s and early ’00s footage, is a limp, easy narrative trotted out less for the sake of investigation and more for the sake of snagging Netflix eyeballs. Aug 6, 2024 Full Review Alan French Sunshine State Cineplex Considering that the story follows a fraudster, it’s hard not to feel like Dirty Pop wants to draw you in with its explosive drama, only to cut corners in its production. Rated: 3/10 Aug 3, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member WER BITTE KENNT BLIMP? 40 Jahre schaffte es Lou Pearlman die Leute an der Nase heranzuführen und dabei Millionen zu scheffeln. Doch ohne ihn gebe es auch die Backstreet Boys oder N'Sync nicht. Er investierte unheimlich viel Geld in die Jungs und holte sich zurück was ihm gehörte, während die Bands ein Taschengeld erhielten. Der Aufstieg und Fall von Lou Pearlman, was eine Geschichte. Schmutziges Pop-Geschäft läuft auf Netflix und hat 3 Episoden mit einer Laufzeit je Folge von ca. 40 Minuten. In dieser Doku geht es um den Mann der Boy Bands massentauglich machte und eine Sparte öffnete die es vorher nicht gab. Ich mochte am meisten die erste Folge, denn da ging es um die Bands und wie denen der Arsch aufgerissen wurde und wie unglaublich wichtig Deutschland für die war. In den anderen beiden Folgen geht es viel um Zahlen und wieviel Geld wohin geschafft wurde, nicht schlecht gemacht aber ich fand es halt uninteressant. Es kommen Mitglieder von den Backstreet Boys, O-Town oder Naturel zu Worte. Genauso wie ehemalige Angestellte oder auch Freunde von Pearlman die von ihren Erlebnissen mit ihm sprechen. Dabei sind sich viele einig das Pearlman nie ein schlechter Mensch gewesen sei und sich halt nahm was er für seine Meinung nach für richtig hielt. Dies sehen natürlich die abgezogen Menschen anders, aber wer so doof ist sein gesamtes Geld wegzugeben, tja verdient vielleicht sein Schicksal. Am Ende bleibt eine Doku die sich easy wegschauen lässt, zu keinem Zeitpunkt schlecht ist aber jetzt auch nicht so fesselt wie man es sich gewünscht hätte. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/11/24 Full Review Dan R Netflix documentary 'Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam' digs up the dirt on the shady world behind some of the 90's biggest boy bands and their mentor. SYNOPSIS: 'Lou Pearlman - the music mogul who created and exploited some of the biggest boy bands of the '90s including Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and O-Town - rises and falls.' On the positive side this documentary will leave you renewing the fantastic 90's pop music of bands like Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, but don't let that distract you from the criminal behaviour of Lou Perlman. For both reasons this is a stupidly excellent documentary series. 'Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam' is riveting, but the talking heads lack compassion and basic humanity for the victims. When they brag about being rich now all that sympathy fades away. Arrogant? Very much so. Again ultimate power corrupts ultimately. One to watch even if just for the nostalgia value. 8/10 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/09/24 Full Review laurent b It kinda misses the spot in the sense that we don't really dive into the psychology of the main character, his true motivations, etc... it's just a recall of a very known story which doesn't bring anything new. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/04/24 Full Review Scott M Documentary about the Jekyll & Hyde legacy of con-man Lou Pearlman, told thru archived footage, present day interviews, and a creative lip/audio *Nsync of Lou, himself. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/02/24 Full Review Michael W This showbiz docuseries was very good. The entire crew did a spectacular job on documenting on this shocking crime story about the popular boy bands of the 1990s and 2000s. It really goes into detail on what Lou Pearlman did to families and the members of boy bands like The Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync. He truly was an evil person who didn't care who he hurt. He got what he deserved and will be forgotten. If you haven't seen this docuseries yet, check it out sometime. It's a definite must see because it'll make the viewers realize who should you trust in life. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/27/24 Full Review Eden S Although the first episode was a bit slow, I found the story and the way it was presented interesting and intriguing. I did not know the background of this story so found the documentary really entertaining. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/26/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Jul 24, 2024 Purveyor of Pop Lou Pearlman assembles the "Backstreet Boys" and their competitors, "NSYNC"; but after racking up gold records, the men are stunned by their paltry paydays. Details Episode 2 Aired Jul 24, 2024 Business Is Business After a lawsuit, Lou launches a reality TV show to find the next big music act; as employees question Lou's cash source, the FBI takes interest. Details Episode 3 Aired Jul 24, 2024 Blood Money Amid a too-good-to-be-true savings plan, bad checks, forgeries, and dubious financial statements, investors seek justice while Lou travels the globe. Details
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Season Info

Executive Producer
Loren Hammonds, Lance E. Nichols
Network
Netflix
Genre
Documentary, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date
Jul 24, 2024
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