In the past few weeks, several influencers have publicly claimed that they were “lured” by Netflix to join Byron Baes, only to learn that the show that was pitched couldn’t be further from what’s actually being produced.
Now, The Saturday Paper alleges they have seen emails and documents saying that “Netflix are wanting to be very coy about the information out there about this show. They certainly don’t want any negative connotation of the show.”
The publication also says they managed to get their mitts on the pitch deck that was used to sell the show to Netflix, which was reportedly a 17-slide presentation in “pastel hues, littered with photos of young women with flawless skin” and by flawless, they mean “overwhelmingly white,” according to the paper. Fucking yikes.
They also claimed that the deck “mentions cocaine use” (???) and the “platinum influencer certification” of being invited to Angus Stone’s house.
Apparently the deck aligns the show with “the Real Housewives franchise,” so that’s what they mean by docu-soap, then. Perhaps even spicier, the deck reads that “narrative arcs will arise from people not getting what they want.”
In comparison, we recently spoke to Billy Otto, a local musician who was courted for Byron Baes, and he said he was told by Netflix that the show would “capture the soul and people of Byron.”
“It sounded like the show would be grounded in the heart space and that the other personalities on the show shared similar values to mine,” he said.
“Later on I was told that the show would be a little bit like The Hills in its set-up, and that’s where I started to get real nervous, not to mention the name Byron Baes, which only showed up in the conversation once I received a contract.”
Then, when he copped the controversial Byron Baes press release, he realised he “didn’t align with the show,” describing it as “SO fucking cheesy.”
“I was honestly pretty upset and disappointed in the people that had lured me in and didn’t feel like I wanted to confront them,” he told us. “So yeah, in my mind I was happy to ghost them – like many of my Byron friends did.”
Head here to have a read of our chat with Billy Otto.
Matty Galea is the Senior Entertainment Editor at Pedestrian who also dabbles in woo-woo stuff like astrology and crystals and has been penning horoscopes since the start of his career. He also Tweets about pop culture and astrology and posts spicy content on Instagram.
