The #1 Show on Netflix Is a Scandalous Docuseries That Reveals a Very Dark Side of the Music Industry

If you watched Max’s Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV from start to finish, then you have to check out Netflix’s latest docuseries, Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam, which is currently sitting at the number one spot on the streamer’s most-watched shows list. 

The three-part documentary (which premiered on Netflix on July 24) centers around a former talent manager named Lou Pearlman, who created iconic boy groups such as Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. On the surface, he was a genius who knew how to create successful smash hits in the ‘90s and early 2000s. But according to this new show, he was hiding a secret far darker than any of his closest confidants could ever imagine.

In case you didn’t know, Pearlman was responsible for orchestrating one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history. Before he passed away in 2016, the former talent manager pleaded guilty to conspiracy, money laundering and making false statements during bankruptcy proceedings, according to The Independent.

While sitting down with Netflix’s TUDUM, Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam producer Michael Johnson revealed how Pearlman’s story is “so much bigger” than the boy bands he created. He said, “This isn’t one of those ‘My manager stole my money’ stories or ‘The guy that started boy bands went off and started a Ponzi scheme.’ The bands that the world knows and loves were formed as a continuation of Lou’s crimes and schemes at a time when his back was against the wall and he needed his next big idea—or else.”