Netflix Working on a Britney Spears Documentary — Report

Yesterday, TMZ reported that Spears herself was working on a documentary, though considering the legalities of her conservatorship this seemed dubious from the start. 

Audiences are still discussing the merits of the recent documentary, “Framing Britney Spears.” But, similar to the competing Fyre Festival documentaries, Netflix is coming out with their own look at Spears’ life, career, and conservatorship.

In a report originally released by Bloomberg, the streaming service is said to be working on their own Spears documentary, set to be directed by Erin Lee Carr. According to the original article, Carr was already working on the documentary before Hulu’s New York Times-based production, and it is currently uncompleted. Netflix did not respond to IndieWire’s request for comment.

The project is interesting as there still seems to be a lot of speculation around it. Yesterday, TMZ reported that Spears herself was working on a documentary, though considering the legalities of her conservatorship this seemed dubious from the start.

Carr’s name will certainly prick up the ears of true crime fans. She was the helmer behind the Gypsy Rose Blanchard documentary “Mommy, Dead and Dearest,” from 2017, as well as the recent HBO documentary “I Love You: The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter.” Carr’s most recent feature is “At the Heart of Gold” about the Olympic gymnastics sexual abuse scandal.

Spears has been in a conservatorship since a series of events in 2007 left many presuming she was unable to care for herself. Since that time her estate has been managed by her father, James Spears, which many believe is detrimental to the singer’s health. Spears has not performed since 2017, allegedly because she is unhappy with her father managing her affairs.

The Spears story remains a hot-button issue, especially as the pop star’s persona remains highly maintained and controlled. Though the documentary has received its fair share of reviews, both positive and negative, there is a vocal contingent of the #FreeBritney movement that was disappointed the series didn’t look at the real-life issues around conservatorships and disability.

Whether this documentary comes to fruition or not remains to be seen. Considering how much heat the Spears camp is currently taking now is certainly the right time to jump on the bandwagon, but could legal issues prohibit this seeing the light of day down the line?