The Netflix series Neon follows a group of friends trying to make it into the highly competitive world of reggaeton and Latin music after a recent success that could boost their chances. The entire first season came out on Netflix in October 2023, and it has already people asking whether or not the events of the series were inspired by a true story. Let’s break it down.
This article contains some spoilers for the first season.
Neon follows Santi and his small group of friends moving from a small town in Florida to Miami after the recent success of “Exagerao”, a reggaeton song they released. Ambition is high and the sky seems to be the limit for them, but the world of the music industry is a hard one, as he, his manager Ness, and his creative director Felix soon realize. Worst of all, they are broke.
Neon is not based on a true story. The story of Neon is actually original and does not come from any pre-existing material or mirror any real-life events. However, worldwide reggaeton star Daddy Yankee served as an executive producer on the project and consulted with the creative team behind the series. For that reason, it seems plausible to assume that some of the stories told by the series may actually be somewhat based on truths, even if they are a loose adaptation of events that actually happened to him or someone else he knows.
After all, the story told by Neon must be pretty relatable to everyone who has at least tried to make it into the music industry or even attempted anything big in their lives. It’s a “two steps forward, one step back” type of situation that you hope doesn’t turn into “two steps back, one step forward”. And that also includes the world’s biggest reggaeton stars like Daddy Yankee.
Neon marks yet another music superstar getting his hands dirty in Hollywood, after Bad Bunny had a minor role in Sony’s Bullet Train (and was attached for a brief time to a lead in a Marvel film called El Muerto, which is no longer happening), or Becky G voiced the scarab in DC’s Blue Beetle. Taylor Swift is also rumored to be appearing in Deadpool 3.
Cast of ‘Neon’ (Credit – Netflix)
Similar shows to Neon about the music industry
A few recommendations come to mind here, but the story of Santi is a bit reminiscent of what Atlanta told, with Paper Boy being a small-time rapper and trying to make himself a bigger star thanks to his manager, played by Donald Glover. Now, unlike Neon, the show isn’t about the musician, and instead follows Glover’s character as he tries to live another day in his chaotic neighborhood.
Of course, recent shows like HBO’s The Idol come to mind as well. Despite all of the controversies surrounding it, the show was actually praised because of its realistic portrayal of the music industry, so if you want to take a closer look at that, it might be a good place to start. The Weeknd was not only attached in the writing but is also the co-lead.
Also on Max, Dave is very good and follows a somewhat similar story to Neon on Netflix, about a guy who thinks he has it all to become the country’s greatest rapper. Also recommendable is Empire, although that is more about the corporate side of the industry as opposed to being centered around the artists like Neon or any of the shows above.
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