New doc Greatest Show Never Made recalls £100,000 fiasco of a fake reality show
Amazon Prime Video has dropped a brand-new true-crime documentary that is sure to please fans of the genre. As part of a push on original true-crime content, The Greatest Show Never Made launched on Prime Video on Wednesday (October 11).
Across three episodes, the docuseries takes viewers back to the new millennium and the golden age of reality TV. It was the year 2002, when Big Brother was in its third season and Will Young had just won the first season of Pop Idol.
People across the country dreamed of taking part themselves, all hoping for a shot at fame and fortune – but for 30 unlucky people, their dream quickly became a nightmare. Available exclusively on Prime Video, The Greatest Show Never Made is a three-part series that reveals how a group of everyday people were duped into taking part in a year-long reality show that didn’t exist.
Fans can watch this fascinating show for free thanks to Amazon Prime’s 30-day free trial, which gives access to Amazon’s ever-expanding library of true-crime content that also includes the gripping new docuseries The Fake Sheikh.
The shocking story began when supposed TV producer Nikita Russian put out an advert for contestants to take part in a new reality TV series. Thousands applied, with auditions overseen by uniformed staff on a mysterious private island on the Thames.
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30 were chosen to take part, all believing the show was going to change their lives – it would make them famous and give them a shot at a £100,000 cash prize. Some of the would-be contestants even quit their jobs and gave up their homes to be there.
Others left long-term partners and sold their possessions, all hoping to escape the daily grind and start on the road to adventure, fame and fortune. But their path to fame took a bizarre turn, because the show didn’t exist.
Within hours of arriving in London their dreams begin to unravel, leaving 30 cashless and now homeless young people stranded in the capital. Twenty years later, The Greatest Show Never Made reunites six of those who found themselves caught up in this misadventure, still searching for answers and trying to understand how the fallout from the non-existent show changed their lives forever.
What’s more, the show also hears from the man who orchestrated the fiasco, the mysterious Nik Russian. But at the heart of this gripping, funny and emotional series is an exploration of fame, identity and the desire we all share to escape the traps of everyday life.
The series received glowing reviews ahead of its premiere, with the i’s Emily Baker citing it as “one of the most bizarre yet optimistic documentaries I’ve ever seen.” The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan described it as a “wonderful, stylish look at a reality TV debacle” that is a “a thoughtful, considerate joy of a documentary.”
The Greatest Show Never Made is available to stream now on Prime Video.
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