Music mogul Simon Cowell is embarking on his most personal project yet in a new Netflix documentary that reveals the emotional toll of his quest to find the next global boyband and the intimate challenges of his family life.
A Candid Look Behind the Scenes
Simon Cowell: The Next Act, a six-part series arriving on Netflix on Wednesday 10 December, follows the Britain's Got Talent judge as he attempts to discover a new music sensation over fifteen years after he formed One Direction.
The documentary shows Cowell auditioning hundreds of hopefuls, but it was the initially low application numbers that caused serious concern. "I am very, very worried that we're going to fail," Cowell admits in the series after just 116 people initially applied. He later confesses that failure would "feel like the end of my career."
Family Life Takes Centre Stage
While the search for a new band provides the narrative drive, the documentary's most revealing moments come from Cowell's home life with his fiancée, Lauren Silverman, and their eleven-year-old son, Eric.
Cowell is effusive about his son, stating, "The best thing that ever, ever happened in my life was having my son, Eric." He explains that one of his motivations for the documentary and the new band is to show Eric "what his dad has done."
This paternal instinct was sharply intensified by the tragic death of former One Direction star Liam Payne. Breaking down on camera six days after Payne's passing, Cowell reveals his profound reaction. "When I called his mum and dad... I was just thinking, 'God, how do you cope with that?'" He directly connected the tragedy to his own family, asking himself, "If this was Eric, what would I do?" This led him to question the immense pressure of the music industry and whether he was "doing the right thing" by launching new careers.
Navigating Blended Family Dynamics
The series also pulls back the curtain on the "upsetting" challenges of their blended family. Lauren, an entrepreneur, has a nineteen-year-old son, Adam, from her previous marriage to Andrew Silverman.
She openly discusses the difficulty of maintaining family unity, stating, "I think the hardest thing is just trying to keep our family a unit. I have my other son Adam who's also in another country."
This tension culminates in a raw argument captured on film. The couple clash over Cowell's questioning of how long he needs to attend Adam's graduation. A visibly frustrated Lauren tells him, "You make me feel bad about the graduation - you've known about this for f**king five years. Now you're making me feel like you don't want to go." The situation becomes so heated that Lauren asks for her microphone to be removed, saying, "You're really upsetting me because I do everything for you and that is really rude."
Despite these friction points, Cowell praises Lauren's strength and honesty, calling it the reason for their great 12-year relationship. The documentary also captures a significant symbolic moment for the couple when Lauren formally changes her surname from Silverman to Cowell on Simon's birthday. She explains her decision, saying, "Adam turned 18 and I felt like I didn't want to have my ex-husband's last name anymore. That just feels right for me for now - not just for now, forever."
Supported by his family and a dedicated team, Simon Cowell's journey in The Next Act is a candid exploration of legacy, family, and his enduring drive to "give some kids a shot" in an increasingly difficult music industry.
