For all the money it funnels into relentlessly mediocre action blockbusters, effects-driven fantasies that almost always end up being cancelled, and the constant churn of serial killer thrillers, the humble documentary series has always been one of Netflix’s most reliable avenues for generating bumper viewing figures. As expected, then, Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me is off to a strong start.
Per FlixPatrol, the unflinching deep dive into the highs and lows of fame, fortune, and notoriety has debuted as the second most-watched episodic exclusive on the platform’s content library, taking charge of a Top 10 spot in 69 countries around the world. It still hasn’t managed to dethrone the unstoppable Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, but very few have managed to knock the period-set juggernaut from its perch so quickly.
Director Ursula Macfarlane digs into the life, times, death, and untold stories of the eponymous subject, who first rose to fame as a Playboy model before spending the remaining years of her life prior to her 2007 passing as tabloid fodder. Hounded by the paparazzi at every turn, dragged into a long-running legal battle over her deceased husband’s estate, and then succumbing to the ills of addiction, it’s an often harrowing portrait of how celebrity can regularly be a double-edged sword with a tragic conclusion.
Netflix always puts its all into the docuseries for better or worse, and You Don’t Know Me is the latest to seize worldwide attention as a result, even if it’s another one that doesn’t have a happy ending by the time the credits roll.