Netflix’s “Hype House” reveals life behind the scenes for a group of young TikTok stars living together in a mansion. They create content together daily and gain income through company promotions. Viewers get a sneak peek at the glamour of their lives as well as the downsides of being TikTok-famous as young adults.

“Hype House” attempts to show that internet fame isn’t what it looks like. It’s not simply kids from rich families messing around and spending a lot of money because they can. However, that stereotype seems to apply more as the cast members get more famous. From what I’ve seen, they haven’t really acknowledged certain supports they’ve had along the way. In addition, a criticism I’ve seen of these stars is that much of their fame is due to “pretty privilege,” and I would agree that that’s true for many of them. Despite this, it’s good that certain cast members are trying to show their struggles and other sides of themselves to be known as more than “pretty faces.”

Certain scenes in this show, like the arguments and staged hangouts, are very hard to watch. It doesn’t feel like most of the cast members are being honest, and even with those I feel are more honest like Nikita Dragun and Chase Hudson, it’s easy to tell that they avoid some truths. There’s a tough tension and fake atmosphere whenever the members are around each other, which feels odd since the whole point of the house is for them to support each other. It feels like some members are very close to getting into huge arguments on camera, which doesn’t feel healthy. None of them look like the show is fun for them.

The first few episodes seem built upon everyone’s casual hatred towards Hudson’s choices with his music career. I understand that he should make his contribution, but he’s clearly trying to grow his career as himself. I think that the house should support his growth until he can support his expensive lifestyle as his own creator. It shouldn’t be selfish for him to want to build a music career while everyone else is making TikToks. On the other hand, this disagreement shows one of the main problems with the show: miscommunication. This shouldn’t only be handled on camera, but in a situation with professionals to mediate everything and bring more experience to the table.

My main takeaway is that it feels like the cast members are still largely immature. The idea behind the house is good, but the way they handle their relationships doesn’t allow it to work. Running a whole business with over a dozen content creators isn’t easy for a few people to handle at such a young age. Realistically, I wouldn’t recommend this show to others. It doesn’t seem ready to be honest to its viewers. Those who enjoy reality shows might like the style of the show, as well as the creators’ TikTok audience who may want to see how the house works off-camera.  Otherwise, it’s hard to say what the target audience would really be.