Despite the superficiality of content houses in the first place, Hype House shows us that the frivolousness of influencer culture is what makes fame so precarious. Members of the content house are burnt out, stressed, and constantly fear what their fans think of them. The bottom line of Hype House is that the life of an influencer is simply miserable. In the end, the Hype House isn’t the crazy frat that Dragun purports-it’s merely a business run by overwhelmed young adults fresh out of adolescence. In fact, most of the drama in the show is caused by either Petrou’s stress about maintaining his fame or other members of the Hype House engaging in ludicrous tasks to increase their following. Contrary to what the show advertises, the drama isn’t composed of the petty fights that characterize most reality TV. Ultimately, Hype House and the stories of the influencers that it follows aren’t just sad-they’re also incredibly boring. In the last episode, he says dejectedly, “I just keep seeing friends leave, and I ask myself: ‘Why am I doing this?’” With this mass departure, the inevitable breakdown of the Hype House has finally begun.Īfter the show’s conclusion, it seems clear that the life of a Hype House member isn’t as flashy and exciting as the content house's branding makes it out to be.

He calls multiple group meetings regarding a lack of content on the Hype House TikTok page, and is constantly frustrated that other members in the house refuse to contribute to the collective.Īt the end of the series, Petrou reveals that one of his major fears has been realized-a majority of the most popular members have moved out and have begun to focus on other career ventures, leaving him and his content house behind. Throughout the show, it becomes increasingly clear that Petrou’s investment and near–obsession with Hype House finances is motivated by his fear of returning to his difficult upbringing. Faced with thirsty demands from increasingly aggressive fans, all he wants to do is settle down and become a Twitch streamer.ĭespite the trials and tribulations each Hype House member faces, Petrou’s story is one of the saddest to watch. Similarly, TikTok heartthrob Vinnie Hacker, who’s known for his thirst–trap videos, is shown to struggle with balancing his sexualized internet persona with his nerdy, video game–obsessed personality. Annon is obviously distraught, as she wants to marry Warren in real life and feels that their internet followings are often prioritized over their actual relationship. Not only this the show spotlights influencer couple Alex Warren and Kouvr Annon’s tumultuous relationship, which climaxes in an almost tragic scene where Warren convinces Annon to hold a fake wedding to generate more likes on his Youtube channel.

Thomas Petrou, another co–founder of the Hype House, is disappointed to see one of the house’s most popular creators make less and less content to keep the collective afloat, saying, “Chase just wants to reap the benefits of the business without doing anything to help us make any of the money.” It seems clear that Hudson has moved onto bigger and better things-he’s moved out of the Hype House and has started to pursue a career in music. Hudson’s nonchalant attitude towards his fame and his content house is one of the main plotlines of the show. “I think I have a sprinkle of fame,” he muses. “Do I think I’m famous?” Chase Hudson, a 19–year old influencer, singer, and Hype House co–founder with over 32.5 million TikTok followers as of January, asks himself. But in spite of their glamorous Hollywood lifestyles, these young influencers seem almost numb to the level of fame they have achieved. Hype House opens with shots of fancy cars, sunny California weather, and the colossal Hype House mansion broken up by close–ups of members listing the size of their absurdly large followings. But despite the initial glitz of this content house, Netflix docuseries Hype House shows that after these influencers’ five seconds of fame, the reality of being a social media star is darker than it seems.

Old hype house members