Byron Baes season 1: the Netflix series described as “the ultimate hate”

After months of controversy and backlash from locals, the wait is finally over and Byron Baes“the ultimate hate watch”, has officially arrived.

The new reality series, which is set in the glamorous world of models, influencers and entrepreneurs on the ultra-hip North Coast of New South Wales, launched on Netflix on Wednesday night and has garnered many conversations on social networks.

The 14-person cast assembled for the show includes former Single and Bachelor in Paradise contestant Nathan Favro, Kyle Sandilands assistant-turned-talent manager Alex Reid and Gold Coast singer-songwriter Sarah St James, who performs under the moniker St James.

Rounding out the cast are oh-so Byron types such as “spiritual trainer/fire artist” Simba and influencer Jade, who is famed for getting a selfie with Kim Kardashian.

The first episode showed two newbies coming to town and trying to break into the cliquey Byron gang, with mixed success.

Now that we’ve finally seen it for ourselves, the general consensus can best be summed up by these tweets:

Love it or hate it, the show certainly got everyone talking:

Nova radio host and comedian Joel Creasey described it as even “worse” than he had imagined, while the former Big Brother star Benjamin Norris said he was “addicted to death”.

Netflix went ahead with the show despite protests from locals last year who demanded the production be canceled.

Ben Gordon, a local resident and anti-Byron Baes spokesperson, said it was a “very serious” issue for the community in an interview last year.

“There was absolutely no consultation,” he told the Today To display.

“They’re offering to drag our name through the mud and make millions of dollars giving nothing back to the community and completely misrepresenting who we are, and that’s totally wrong.”

As the backlash grew, Netflix ANZ chief content officer Que Minh Luu publicly responded.

“The show is authentic and honest, and while it bears all the classic hallmarks of the form and embraces the drama, grief and conflict that make it such an entertaining viewing, our goal is to lift the curtain on the culture of influencers to understand the motivation, the desire and the pain behind this very human need to be loved,” she said.

“The reason for choosing Byron Bay as the location was driven by the region’s unique attributes as a melting pot of entrepreneurship, lifestyle and health practices, and the sometimes difficult encounter with ‘old Byron “traditional and the alternative ‘new,’ all of which we’ll talk about on the show.”

• The first season of Byron Baes is now streaming on Netflix.