Everything you need to know about the TikTokers starring in Netflix's 'Hype House' reality show about behind-the-scenes influencer life

• Netflix has released "Hype House," a reality show based in the TikTok content collective house.
• It offers a behind-the-scenes look at the lives and feuds of some of the most popular TikTokers.
• From Chase Hudson to Nikita Dragun, here's everything you need to know about the show's stars.

On Friday 7 January, Netflix dropped eight episodes of "Hype House," its fly-on-the-wall reality show set in one of the most popular TikTok creator collectives.

Hype House's 10 members live together in Moorpark, California, in a "$5 million house together, filming content all day," according to Petrou's explanation of the show's premise in its first episode.

The Hype House's creation was announced in December 2019, with TikTok stars Thomas Petrou, Daisy Keech, Alex Warren, and Chase Hudson (aka Lil Huddy) as founding members. Several of the app's top creators, including Charli D'Amelio, Dixie D'Amelio, Addison Rae, and the Lopez brothers, were also part of the inaugural crew, as The New York Times reported in January 2020.

The Netflix reality show, which was announced in April 2021, follows the lives, antics, and drama of a group of the current Hype House members, including co-founders Hudson and Petrou, as well as Nikita Dragun, Larri Merritt (aka Larray), Alex Warren, Kouvr Annon, Jack Wright, Vinnie Hacker, and Mia Hayward.

Here's what you need to know about the TikTokers who star in the series.

Chase 'Lil Huddy' Hudson

Chase Hudson, one of the co-founders of the collective, is the most followed Hype House creator on TikTok, with over 30 million followers. The 19-year-old is also a singer known as Lil Huddy. His most recent single, "Partycrasher," was released in September 2021.

Hudson is known for his emo aesthetic, which is reflected in his music, and as the ex-boyfriend of Charli D'Amelio, a former Hype House member and the most-followed person on TikTok.

A key plot point in the early episodes of the series is the tension between Hudson and other Hype House members as Hudson pursues a career away from TikTok.

In January 2021, Hudson was named in a legal complaint brought on the behalf of two teenage girls. The girls accused former Hype House member Tony Lopez of grooming them and coercing them into sexual acts. They accused Hudson of negligence and causing emotional distress.

Hudson did not return Insider's previous request for comment regarding these allegations.

Thomas Petrou

Thomas Petrou, Hudson's Hype House co-founder, currently has over eight million followers on TikTok and almost two million YouTube subscribers. Ths Netflix series shows him having taken on the role of Hype House manager following Hudson's absence.

The Hype House came under fire in July 2020 for throwing a party during the pandemic for Larri "Larray" Merritt's birthday. The party was attended by other influencers, including the D'Amelio sisters, James Charles, Emma Chamberlain, and Tana Mongeau. Petrou told the Hollywood Fix there were only 67 people at the party, but a video shared online appeared to show large groups of people waiting to get in.

Petrou also had a spat with former member Daisy Keech, who posted a since-deleted YouTube video claiming Petrou and Hudson did not give her credit as a co-founder of the Hype House. She later filed a lawsuit, Forbes reported.

In January 2021, Petrou was named in a legal complaint that included Hudson and the Lopez brothers. According to one of the teen girls that was interviewed for the complaint, Petrou invited her and a friend to the Hype House, where she said she engaged in sex acts with Tony Lopez. The girls accused Petrou of negligence and causing emotional distress.

Petrou did not return Insider's request for comment.

Nikita Dragun

Nikita Dragun has steadily gained notoriety since 2017 as a model and influencer. The 25-year-old launched her own independent makeup brand called Dragun Beauty and starred in a Snapchat reality show called "Nikita Unfiltered," which follows the influencer looking for love.

Dragun has seen her fair share of controversies, particularly with viewers alleging the influencer "blackfished," or tried to make herself appear Black. The accusations date back to 2017, when Dragun was a part of an ad campaign for a Jeffree Starr Cosmetics line where her skin appeared to be darker than usual. In October 2020 she faced backlash again for asking her followers "what race" she should be that day.

Dragun has also been called out for partying during the pandemic after it emerged she threw a party for her 25th birthday. She has also been spotted multiple times not wearing a face mask.

Larri 'Larray' Merritt

Merritt is 22 and has over 23 million followers on TikTok. Many of his fans were angry when he joined the Hype House because they thought it was "cringey" and just for "white kids," he explained in the first episode.

His famous friends include the D'Amelio sisters, Quen Blackwell, James Charles, Bryce Hall, and many more. Many of his friends were in attendance at the birthday party that the Hype House threw for him in July 2020. The party faced major backlash online and was called out by social-media users and fellow influencers like Elijah Daniel and Tyler Oakley.

Oakley tweeted at the popular influencers who were spotted at the party and asked them to "please consider social distancing, mask-wearing, & using your huge platforms to encourage responsibility during a worldwide pandemic." Merritt responded to the tweet and said the party was "a dumb thing to do," and said he would "do better and actually take this shit seriously."

Alex Warren

Alex Warren got his start on YouTube before transitioning to TikTok, where he has almost 15 million followers. The 22-year-old told Forbes in January 2021 that he'd been trying to become an internet star for more than a decade. "I've been at this for 11 years. It was never immediate for me. But I knew that eventually, it would pay off," he said.

He makes comedic videos with his girlfriend, Kouvr Annon, who also features in the show. The pair told the story of how they met in the first episode, explaining that Warren saw a photo of her sleeping on a mutual friend's Snapchat and began talking to her.

Warren has spoken in the past about having a difficult childhood, something he mentions again in the reality show, saying he was evicted by his mother when he was 17 and ended up living in his car.

Kouvr Annon

Annon, who is dating co-founder Alex Warren, has been with the Hype House since the beginning. The 20-year-old original member has amassed over 13.5 million followers by sharing dance videos and content about body positivity. She was living in Hawaii before moving to LA to be with Warren.

She later became an ambassador for Savage X Fenty, Rihanna's lingerie line.

Jack Wright

Jack Wright is also an original member of the Hype House and has accumulated over eight million followers on TikTok.

The 18-year-old is known for the dance videos he posts on TikTok, many of which are with his twin brother.

While he never publicly confirmed a relationship, viewers believed he was dating fellow Hype House member Sienna Mae Gomez when they featured heavily on each others' channels during 2020.

In May 2021, Wright's friend Mason Rizzo accused Gomez of sexually assaulting Wright. Gomez denied the allegations in a YouTube video saying, "Making an untrue sexual assault claim is never OK. I'm beyond saddened by this situation. In order for us to all move forward, I will be taking this offline with Jack."

Vinnie Hacker

Hacker has almost 13 million followers on TikTok, where he mostly posts lip-syncing videos. He joined the Hype House in January 2021 after gaining popularity on the app.

In the reality show, the 19-year-old explained how his plan was never to become an influencer, and said he thought part of his popularity was down to topless photos and videos he frequently posts, which he referred to as "thirst traps."

Mia Hayward

Hayward is described by Hacker as a "mother figure" in the Hype House. She is in a relationship with co-founder Petrou, leading to some tension with Hudson due to his perceived lack of commitment to the group.

The 21-year-old is one of the less followed TikTokers in the collective, with 3.7 million followers. She also has over 1 million Instagram followers.

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