Fyre Fraud
  • Network: HULU
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 14, 2019
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12

Critic Reviews

  1. Slate
    Reviewed by: Sam Adams
    Jan 17, 2019
    60
    Despite Fyre Fraud’s unique access, the insights into McFarland tend to come from other sources. As far as Billy McFarland is concerned, his mistake was that he dreamed too big and got in over his head. ... Neither movie is perfect, and each underlines the other’s flaws, but if you’re watching one, watch Fyre, which is both less self-righteous and less inclined to punctuate its insights with Family Guy clips.
  2. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: John Anderson
    Jan 17, 2019
    50
    [Fyre Fraud] immediately declares Fyre to have been the defining nonevent at the intersection of social-media illusion and bricks-and-mortar realities, which is a perfectly reasonable premise, but a less than wieldy one. The results are scattershot, and less cinematically satisfying than Mr. Smith’s elegantly constructed takedown.
  3. Vox.com
    Reviewed by: Alissa Wilkinson
    Jan 17, 2019
    40
    Fyre Fraud tries to draw connections between what happened with Fyre Festival and larger cultural trends, like the existence of Instagram influencers and the phenomenon of FOMO, to which millennials are particularly susceptible, at least according to the documentary. (At times their methods, unfortunately, seem a bit slipshod.) It is, in essence, a think piece.

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Most Shared TV Season of 2019

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 19
  3. Negative: 4 out of 19
  1. Mayfieldja
    Feb 6, 2019
    5
    Hulu’s Fyre Fraud, despite some sloppy editing and sometimes shoddy b-roll, was ultimately the more engaging of the 2 docs, for me. FF pacesHulu’s Fyre Fraud, despite some sloppy editing and sometimes shoddy b-roll, was ultimately the more engaging of the 2 docs, for me. FF paces itself well but still falls into well-worn territory with the endless parade of talking heads and little footage of the actual events; especially when you compare it to Netflix’s Fyre. I do appreciate, what seems to be, an unbiased account of the events that took place and the creative team's approach to interviewing Fyre’s creator, Billy McFarland. Overall, Fyre Fraud had lapses in editing which led to muddled storytelling.… Full Review »
  2. EludiumQ36
    Feb 6, 2019
    7
    Since the two Fyre Festival investigative documentaries came out within days of each other I'm briefly reviewing both here. Fyre (Netflix) wasSince the two Fyre Festival investigative documentaries came out within days of each other I'm briefly reviewing both here. Fyre (Netflix) was a decent enough documentary of grand-fraudster Billy McFarland. It presented a fairly chronological accounting of events, ending with the legal consequences of the fraud. Fyre Fraud (Hulu) was less chrono, at least to begin with, and spent much more time describing Billy's childhood, college days, and the genesis of his fraudulent ways. In fact, I found Fyre Fraud to be more informative and entertaining. Fyre (Netflix) showed more of their social marketing photos and videos, but that wasn't as satisfying. Fyre Fraud also did a better job of describing the fraudsters' legal consequences, too, so my recommendation goes to Fyre Fraud (Hulu) if you only want to watch one of them.… Full Review »
  3. drizza
    Jan 18, 2019
    10
    Top notch entertainment. As good a con artist story and you'll get. American Greed on Steroids. Wolf of Wall Street-Esque.
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