Fyre Festival 2: How to watch Billy McFarland documentaries

❘ Published: 2023-08-22T10:19:12

Netflix

Fyre Festival 2 is happening… no, really. Amid this gob-smacking news, you might be wondering where to watch the two outstanding documentaries about Billy McFarland’s festival farce – and that cheese sandwich. We’ve got the answers.

Once upon a time (in 2017), a group of influencers were seduced by the siren song of glamorous promotional videos featuring supermodels frolicking on sandy beaches, jet skis racing across crystal clear waters, and DJs spinning discs to huge crowds. Text emerges across the screen: “Welcome to Fyre Festival.”

Founder Billy McFarland knew what he was doing, and his promo approach paid off. Some 8,000 festival-lovers forked out up to $12,000 for VIP packages to what promised to be the music festival of the century. But when they turned up, let’s just say it was more like the Dollar Store version of Survivor. Fyre Festival was the ultimate Instagram vs Reality moment: instead of gourmet meals, guests got sweaty cheese sandwiches; instead of luxury accommodation, they got disaster relief tents; and instead of private jets, they got stranded on an island with no food or water.

Tweet about Fyre Festival's cheese sandwich

Who can forget the cheese sandwich?

The rest of the world experienced an unhealthy dose of schadenfreude as they watched events unfold in real time, which later saw McFarland facing legal consequences for his scam – including a four year stint in prison. Has he learned his lesson? Apparently not – this week, Billy boy announced that Fyre Festival 2 tickets are now officially on sale. If you need a reminder of why not to buy them, here’s where and how to watch the two documentaries chronicling the most epic party fail in recent history.

How to watch Fyre Festival documentaries – are they streaming?

The good news is both Fyre Festival documentaries are available for streaming. You can watch Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened on Netflix now, while Fyre Fraud is available on Hulu.

It’s no surprise the epic meltdown that was Fyre Festival sparked enough intrigue and curiosity to inspire numerous documentaries. The story has everything: scandal, schadenfreude, celebrity culture, and conflict, not to mention a fair dose of humor.

But what was surprising is that both documentary films released within days of each other. Hulu’s Fyre Fraud dropped on January 14, 2019, while Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened arrived on Netflix on January 18, 2019. It was almost like the streamers were having a ‘who wore it better?’ moment.

Ultimately, both wore it well. Some argue Netflix’s Fyre is the stronger entry, giving a better behind-the-scenes look at how the event descended into chaos while offering a more cinematic experience. But others prefer Hulu’s Fyre Fraud, appreciating the in-depth analysis and outsider input.

What are the Fyre Festival documentaries about?

Hulu’s Fyre Fraud is described as “a true-crime comedy exploring a failed music festival turned internet meme at the nexus of social media influence, late-stage capitalism, and morality in the post-truth era.”

Meanwhile, the official synopsis for Netflix’s Fyre reads: “An exclusive behind the scenes look at the infamous unraveling of the Fyre music festival. Created by Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, Fyre was promoted as a luxury music festival on a private island in the Bahamas featuring bikini-clad supermodels, A-List musical performances and posh amenities.

“Guests arrived to discover the reality was far from the promises. Chris Smith, the director behind the Emmy Award Nominated documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, gives a first-hand look into the disastrous crash of Fyre as told by the organizers themselves.”

With Fyre Festival 2 on the horizon and Billy McFarland seemingly up to his old tricks (or perhaps even on the path to redemption?), it’s well worth giving both a revisit.

You can check out our other documentaries coverage below: