Netflix nabs Jessica Simpson documentary from 'Robbie Williams' director Joe Pearlman
Joe Pearlman’s new Netflix documentary puts Jessica Simpson back under the microscope, digging into her life, career, and how she navigated fame.
With Joe Pearlman — the filmmaker behind Netflix ’s Robbie Williams doc — directing, the feature-length film digs into the chapters that turned Jessica Simpson into a pop-culture fixture, from the MTV reality years and a very public split to the fashion business that turned her name into a retail juggernaut.
Netflix acquired the project as a single, feature documentary. There’s no title or premiere date yet, but the focus is clear: go past the tabloid image and revisit the decisions, relationships and reinventions that have defined Simpson’s last two decades.
What it will cover
- More than 20 million records sold during a teen-pop breakout alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Mandy Moore.
- Reality-TV ubiquity on MTV’s Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, which followed her marriage to 98 Degrees’ Nick Lachey.
- A fashion footprint that grew into a billion‑dollar business.
- Her 2020 New York Times bestseller, Open Book, which pulled back the curtain on her personal life and career.
- A return to original music after 15 years with the EPs Nashville Canyon: Part 1 and Part 2, released last year to warm notices.
- A recent acting turn with a guest spot on All’s Fair, the legal drama starring Kim Kardashian and Glenn Close, where she played a rock star’s wife plotting revenge on her plastic surgeon and unfaithful ex.
She’s sold over 20 million records and built a billion‑dollar fashion brand.
The Nick and Jessica years
Simpson and Nick Lachey married in 2002 and became one of the most-watched couples on early-2000s TV thanks to Newlyweds. The constant cameras and public pressure laid bare the strain behind the scenes; they separated in 2005 and finalized their divorce in 2006. In her memoir, Simpson reflected that they were young and that the relationship had stopped working, while Lachey has said he felt blindsided by the split.
What’s next
Pearlman’s track record with celebrity portraits suggests an all-access approach, now centered on a star who has repeatedly remade herself across music, television, publishing and fashion. Netflix has not announced a title or release date for the documentary.