Streaming service Hulu has announced that its new feature-length documentary on child stardom (aptly named Child Star) is set to be directed by Demi Lovato, one of the most notable former child actors to rise through the ranks of the Disney Channel in the early 2000s.
The documentary will mark the first time Lovato has sat in the director's chair on set, taking on a subject matter all too familiar to the 30-year-old singer and actress. Lovato's been notably critical about the struggles she faced as a child and adolescent in the film and television industry, and has been candid in recent years about her struggles with addiction, disordered eating and an overly-controlling management team.
Lovato's career started at the tender age of 10 on the set of Barney and Friends, alongside fellow child actor Selena Gomez, before becoming a teen star at the helm of several Disney Channel movies and her own television series at just 15.
What do we know so far?
The documentary is set to be co-directed by Nicola Marsh (who produced Lovato's 2021 Dancing With the Devil documentary series). The film will place focus on deconstructing the highs and illuminating the perils of growing up in the public eye, through the eyes and first-person accounts of some of Hollywood's most notable former child stars (including the likes of Lovato herself).
While we don't have any leads yet as to which former child stars will be featured in the new documentary, there's certainly no scarcity of candidates. Nickelodeon's Jeanette McCurdy was outspoken about her experiences as a young person on set during her book tour last year, while child stars of earlier generations haven't shied away from publicising their own harrowing experiences of early addiction and sexualisation in the media, including the likes of Drew Barrymore and Britney Spears.
