HAVE WE HIT PEAK SPORTS DOCS?
Netflix just cancelled its tennis documentary series Break Point amidst claims of tumbling viewership and a lack of access.
Commissioned in the wake of Drive to Survive — the hugely successful series documenting Formula 1 — Break Point is emblematic of Netflix’s algorithmic commissioning strategy and its flawed need for mimicry.
"D2S" was a phenomenon. First released in 2019, its high-octane blend of racing and gossipy off-track drama proved a smash hit. It’s garnered 6.8 million viewers, earned widespread critical acclaim, and reinvented F1 for a new audience.
But Tennis isn’t F1. It lacks the ensemble cast of Monaco playboys and Machiavellian team bosses. It lacks the reality-tv controversies, and the real risk of death. By contrast, tennis is a slow-burn psychological thriller, where drama unfolds - often silently - inside players' minds.
On the back of Drive to Survive, Netflix went in HARD on fly-on-the-wall sports, commissioning similar series about tennis, golf, cycling, surfing and rugby from “D2S” producers Box To Box Films.
Having bottled lightning with Drive to Survive, none of these subsequent series have matched the success of the F1 format. Reviews for the spin-offs have been poor, with critics noting how each series became increasingly sanitised, safe and formulaic.
Having spent the best part of last year in an edit suite, trying to make my own version of of one of these such shows, I can appreciate the exceptional programme making skills of the Box-to-Box production teams. Their docs are brilliantly shot, boldly told, and exceptionally well edited.
The cardinal rule of documentary making, however, is that films live or die on account of the subject matter on screen. If you have boring subjects, or can’t negotiate proper access, making a compelling doc will always be hard.
Break Point suffered from its limited access to tennis’ biggest stars. While it tried to depict the pressures of tennis through the eyes of the next generation of players, the series was ultimately defined by absence.
Break Point also suffered from applying the same narrative template that had worked so well with F1 to tennis. Explaining the sport to an audience assumed never before to have watched it made sense with “D2S”. The series, after all, was pitched to Netflix by F1, desperate to grow the sport in America. But 23 Million Americans play tennis - you probably don’t need to explain how the scoring system works.
It’s crucial when making a documentary either to think obsessively about your audience or, conversely, to not think of them at all; instead focusing on making the most interesting story with the material you’ve got available.
Break Point felt like a series that didn’t know who it was appealing to. Perhaps it would have been better suited breaking free from the Netflix template and leaning into the unique peculiarities of tennis as a sport.
