Will the upcoming Netflix reality series Byron Baes ever actually make it to the streaming platform?
Well, based on the current conflict and backlash the planned show is currently receiving, it’s looking like it’ll prove to be a pretty huge feat if so.
As reported by news.com.au, many of the Byron Bay’s most well known stores are refusing to let the producers of the show have any access to their businesses.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, owner of the Byron Bay General Store, Ben Gordon originally gave permission to allow filming within his store, however he reportedly changed his mind once he had more of an idea of what the show was actually all about. And what’s he concerned about is more than a personal issue, it’s more about the Byron Bay community as a whole. He said, “It seems to me like the producers haven’t thought beyond the catchy name and trashy format to consider how that kind of mainstream global exposure could affect our community.”
Gordon continued, “They first approached my business to be one of their filming locations before it was announced what the show was. They simply said it was a TV show about Byron Bay, so I entertained the idea. They offered no money and said that the ‘massive exposure’ was payment enough. However shortly after I read the press release I declined as I didn’t want to be associated with that garbage.”
Right now, the locals of Byron Bay are also petitioning for the proposed reality show to be canned. At the time of the publishing of this article, the petition currently has 6,006 of the 7,000 needed signatures.
A section of the petition reads, “We, the community of Byron, Ballina, Tweed, and Lismore Shires are not the perfect backdrop for this series. We are a community experiencing significant challenges driven by influencer culture and rapidly shifting demographics of residents. We do not want to be cast as the perfect backdrop and magnet for social media influencers. We do not want to appear in ‘Byron Baes’.”
For more on this topic, follow the Film & TV Observer.
