Demi Lovato’s new documentary series Dancing with the Devil is available to stream online — for free! The unfiltered look at Lovato’s 2018 overdose, directed by Michael D. Ratner, premiered on March 16, 2021 on the opening night of the SXSW Film Festival to applause from critics. The YouTube premiere followed a week later on March 23, and the first two episodes are already available to stream on the platform. The docuseries is a follow-up to the 2017 documentary film, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated, which was also a YouTube Original.
Dancing with the Devil contains footage from an unreleased concert documentary, filmed in the same summer as the overdose, to take a closer look into Lovato’s mental headspace leading up to the event on July 24, 2018. The star explained in the docuseries how she'd broken her sobriety in the month leading up to the fateful night of her overdose and managed to hide it from her inner circle. She did so because of the strict lifestyle measures placed on her by people who, ironically, were trying to prevent her from relapsing. Lovato herself, as well as her parents, siblings, assistants, and close friends, described how close to death the singer came after a substance exchange that went terribly wrong.
Given how open Lovato has been through the years about her mental health and addiction issues, it makes sense that Dancing with the Devil would be available to stream for free on YouTube. It’s clear that she wants her story to find whoever may feel empowered by it without the barriers of a paid subscription. However, users with YouTube Premium can also stream numerous bonus clips to supplement the main dialogue of the docuseries. The final two episodes are slated to premiere on March 30 and April 6, respectively.
The YouTube Original docuseries is a companion to Demi’s upcoming album, Dancing with the Devil… The Art of Starting Over, which will be released on April 2. The album will feature collaborations with a range of artists such as Noah Cyrus (yes, Miley’s little sister), Saweetie, and Ariana Grande. The story of the album, much like that of the documentary, is of Lovato finally reaching rock bottom and choosing pick herself back up to turn her life around. The artist revealed in the series that her overdose was actually far worse than the media led the public to believe. She described the shocking details of her physical condition in the wake of the overdose, including that she had three strokes, a heart attack, and temporary blindness while in the hospital recovering. She had to undergo extensive dialysis treatment to remove the toxins from her body as well. To this day, Lovato said that her vision is still so diminished that she can no longer drive.
Lovato’s rock bottom was traumatizing, to say the least. Yet what the docuseries shows audiences is how life, especially an addict’s life, is about chance. The singer said that she was five to ten minutes from death at the time of her hospital transport, but her assistant managed to check on her at the right moment. Given the multiple organ failure she suffered, the odds of surviving were stacked against her. Her living to tell the story of this near-death experience is a second chance many don’t get. Demi Lovato’s story in Dancing with the Devil reminds fans that second chances should never be taken for granted.
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