Billy McFarland, the famed fraudster who went to prison for wire fraud over the Fyre Festival fiasco, will be the subject of a brand-new documentary. This time around, it’s not a failed music festival that made good on just about zero promises but rather a…treasure hunt in the Bahamas.
According to Deadline, After the Fyre “will feature…disgraced entrepreneur [Billy McFarland] as he launches his next business venture and attempts to pay back the $26 million dollars he still owes after scandalously defrauding investors, partners and attendees of the promised-but-botched luxurious music event that took place in 2017.”
Billy McFarland, who was released from prison in March, has gone on to apologize for his fraudulent actions, saying, “I need to apologize. That is the first and the last thing that needs to be done…I let people down. I let down employees. I let down their families. I let down investors. I’m wrong and it’s bad.” He continued, “I think the hardest thing for me is the trust that I violated and whether it was friends, investors, or employees, people gave up a lot to try to make this happen…How do I call them now and look them in the eye when I let them down?”
For those that ditched streaming services in 2019, both Hulu and Netflix had competing documentaries about the incident: Fyre Fraud and Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, respectively. And in case you don’t remember just how catastrophic the event was, here’s a reminder:
Ample Entertainment will produce while Fremantle will distribute. In a statement, co-founder Ari Mark discussed the goals of the company and the upcoming project. “We’re generating IP-driven, must-see content that will resonate with viewers. After the Fyre is the perfect example of an in-house Ample production that is both premium and broad.”
What do you think of the documentary pitch? Does Billy McFarland deserve a shot at redemption or the attention a new doc would give him? Let us know below!