HeidiWorld: The Heidi Fleiss Story
4.8/5
Critic Rating
How ambitious LA girl Heidi Fleiss rose to become a “Hollywood Madam” in the early 90s, and how she fell at the hands of American sexual hypocrisy. A kaleidoscopic look at sex, drugs, glamour and corruption in Los Angeles.
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Hannah Verdier • The Guardian • Jun 16, 2022
"...predictably juicy...There’s a lot of detail before the main event, with Fleiss’s bohemian LA childhood and the emergence of her entrepreneurial skills when she took a cut of the profits from a babysitting circle."
Score: 5
Kayleigh Donaldson • Pajiba • May 18, 2022
"Actress Annie Hamilton provides the voice of Fleiss, with just the right level of husky allure to make you understand how people were so drawn to this madam. Lambert, like Fleiss, is a Los Angeles native, and Heidi World spends a good amount of time creating an immersive portrait of the city that is more famous for the myth than its reality. Everyone turns up to play someone of note: From Rian Johnson and Paul F. Tompkins to Richard Kelly and Lambert’s own father. To Lambert and Fleiss, L.A. might be the most thoroughly American city in the country."
Score: 4.5
Eoghan O'Sullivan • Irish Examiner • Apr 26, 2022
"...while the series is a little baggy, it’s titillating and salacious - how can you resist?"
Score: 4.9
Lauren Passell • Podcast The Newsletter • Apr 25, 2022
"If you’re a fan of Karina’s storytelling on You Must Remember This, if you love the dishiness of Hollywood and unknown stories about Hollywood’s biggest names, you’ll love Heidiworld. Even if you hate Hollywood, you’ll enjoy this smart look at American culture told through the story of Heidi Fleiss..."
Score: 4.5
Nicholas Quah • Vulture • Apr 14, 2022
"HeidiWorld conducts itself as a largely straightforward historical accounting, with Lambert serving as an active, opinionated narrator. The execution has been a little rough in practice so far — Lambert’s narration could be tighter, the script could be neater — but her treatment of Fleiss’s story is intriguing. It fits neatly into the blended vibes of the ’90s revival and a reconsideration of women from the era that we seem to be bouncing around in these days."
Score: 5
Alexi Duggins • The Guardian • Apr 7, 2022
"It’s incredibly detailed – potentially too detailed at first, with the opening episode full of information on her childhood."
