The D’Amelio Disaster: A review of Hulu’s new docuseries starring the D’Amelio family

TikToker Charli D’Amelio and her mundane family turned celebrities recently released a reality TV series on Hulu. The docuseries aired on Hulu on Sept. 3 with a total of eight episodes that dragged on for longer than a seven-hour school day.

The series is centered around Charli D’Amelio, who blew up on TikTok at age 15, and since then has become one of the most well-known people on the app and in youth pop-culture. Because of her consistent content of dancing to trending songs, she’s accumulated over 100 million followers on Tiktok.

I didn’t expect a top-notch film to come out of the D’Amelio family — due to having watched other types of videos featuring Charli that didn’t spark my interest — but I at least expected it to be somewhat interesting.

The show focuses on her family, including her well-known sister Dixie, who rode Charli’s coattails to also blow up on the app. 

The D’Amelio’s were formerly normal, everyday family, who just happen to have daughters that have accumulated a fortune and a plethora of fans. They don’t have deranged personalities, and they aren’t looking to stir up drama, which causes the show to lack the substance of an entertaining reality TV series.

It’s not only the family that makes the show put me to sleep, it’s the editing too. There are no cuts. And these people aren’t trained actors or seasoned influencers like the Kardashians, meaning that we have to sit through plenty of pauses while they try to meaningfully articulate what they’re trying to say. This contrasts the Kardashians, who spit out whatever insult or blank thought they’ve got, which is admittedly far more entertaining.

But, I have to cut them all some slack, especially the sisters. Being in the spotlight at only 17 and 20 out of the blue has to be a monumental shift — and it shows. 

The girls are filmed having panic attacks and mental breakdowns regularly throughout the show. And their parents aren’t used to raising celebrities. It’s a mess, but they’ve had no time to prepare for moving from Connecticut to Los Angeles and relying on their daughters’ income — which could crash after being cancelled on Twitter for something as meaningless as refusing to eat snails — yes, this did happen.

One revealing scene shows one of Charli’s managers presenting her their plan for the year, with ventures such as starting a clothing line, writing books and starring in TV shows, including this docuseries. By the end of the presentation, Charli seems to be overwhelmed and surprised by how many tasks she’s taking on in one year, and I don’t blame her —I’m worrying about my next chemistry test while she’s focused on profiting on her fame.

This pressure placed on both Charli and Dixie by their parents— I mean, who’s really paying for that 14 million dollar house — fans and the hectic world of pop-culture is too much on these kids that should only be messing around in highschool. 

As each episode ends, I only feel empathy for these teenagers who once had a life just like mine. Instead of showing rich lunatics yelling at each other for 30 minutes, this reality TV series follows two formerly normal teenagers being shoved through the world of social media, directly under the public eye.