The format is clearly popular, as Netflix has two other similar series slated for release in 2023, currently called Untitled Tennis Series and Untitled Golf Series. They are made by the producers of Drive to survive, and if you’ve watched this, you’ll know what to expect: tension, drama, pressure, sweat. The problem is, it’s all fabricated, a thin facsimile of the real thing.
There have been some amazing sports documentaries over the years: ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, or the last dance, about Michael Jordan’s dominant Chicago Bulls team. But for the most part, these docs looked back and presented athletes whose professional careers are over, who have nothing to lose by telling the truth.
The new wave of sports documentaries promises an unvarnished glimpse behind the curtain of elite sport as it unfolds today, but documentary makers deal with international brands and multi-millionaires with no incentive to reveal anything. be real. There will be a series of restrictions in place on what can and cannot be shown in the finished product – layers of approvals and signatures. Tellingly, the critically acclaimed the last dance is built around 500 hours of behind-the-scenes footage from Jordan’s final season with the Bulls in 1997-98, which he refused permission to broadcast until recently.
Trying to do the same thing closer to real time means trading investigative rigor for access – and if All or nothing and Drive to survive are any indication, new Netflix shows are likely to be superficially insightful but nutritionally empty, suitable for everyone involved except the viewer.
It’s the next logical step in a change that’s been happening for years. Social media allowed athletes (as well as celebrities and politicians) to control their own messaging for the first time, without the intermediary of newspapers and magazines. Now they’re using that power to control their image, aided by streaming services desperate for sports content and the eyeballs it brings with it. And it would be nice if they only sold fine watches and perfumes, but today sport is also a vector of soft power: when Amazon offers a sanitized view of Manchester City for a documentary, they don’t just washing the sport Pep Guardiola and his players. , but also the Abu Dhabi regime which finances them.
Part of the appeal of live sports is its inherent chaos. Japan could beat Spain, a tennis player could inexplicably start scolding a woman in the crowda capricious shot could hit a beach ball and deflect. For advertisers, however, there is no business case for this chaos, and staged sports documentaries are just another way to extract spontaneity from the product.
Look at the sport through this lens, and a lot of strange things start to make sense: the Saudi Arabian golf tournament, FIFA’s decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams despite fears it will make football worse , the relentless run of the ATP Tour, the way the Champions League format is being revamped to benefit established clubs.
The overabundance of bland behind-the-scenes documentaries like Drive to survive are just another symptom of the same disease. They offer a glimpse into the future of stage-run sport, where occasions like the World Cup become even less about fans and even more about selling. Welcome to the untitled football series, where fans simply dress up on stage, and real sport is a complication that can be removed.
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