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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Stuart Heritage

Simon Cowell: The Next Act review – the billionth take on his one idea

Teenagers look up at a billboard of Simon Cowell that says Simon needs you
Look at me … the host with the most. Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix

Ladies and gentlemen, the most cynical bait and switch of the year has finally arrived. To the casual viewer, Netflix’s new series Simon Cowell: The Next Act may appear to be yet another quasi-unvarnished authorised documentary series.

And that would make sense, because those things are everywhere at the moment. Everyone from David Beckham to Robbie Williams to Charlie Sheen has made one, allowing a film crew into their lives to offer just enough grit to fool people into thinking they are watching anything other than a heavily sanitised publicity project. And, really, who deserves one of these more than Simon Cowell?

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