• Simon Cowell’s new Netflix talent show struggles to compete in today’s social media-driven pop culture landscape • The format feels outdated compared to TikTok and other modern avenues for discovering and promoting music stars • Despite attempts to modernise, the show lacks originality and fails to recapture the success of Cowell’s earlier projects

It’s been four years since The X Factor was finally put out of its misery and a good dozen since its halcyon days, a period in which pop music, and its star-making methods, have significantly moved on from the bog-standard TV talent show.

Unfortunately, no one seems to have told Simon Cowell.

Following a lengthy absence from the screen, the music mogul now returns with The Next Act, a Netflix original designed to fill what he believes i

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