Three other Netflix shows to try if you loved The Last Dance
Awesome sports docs and movies all have one thing in common — it’s never about the sport itself.
Here’s how you make a supremely entertaining show about sports: leave the rules and stats to the hardcore fans. Instead, focus on all the aspects of a sport that make for a truly binge-worthy story.
Like the other choices on this list, Netflix’s The Last Dance is less about the Chicago Bulls’ late 90s all-star lineup (despite each episode being based around a member of the team) than the all or nothing narratives created by the glory of winning championships, the determination of coaches, the drama of injuries and rags-to-riches players, and the interfering managers and shareholders who make shows about legendary sporting feats as riveting as any dragon, superpower, or AI-based drama.
So who cares if you’re not into the sports that form the basis of the following shows — if anything, unfamiliarity with the true events behind these stories makes them all the more riveting!
The Last Dance (Netflix/ESPN)
90s hip hop? Check. Beret and single hoop earring? Oh yes. Power grabbing managers battling for supremacy with super-talented players? You betcha. If you haven’t seen Netflix’s / ESPN’s (territory depending) latest foray into the world of sport, where Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman et al fight against the odds to win their final championship as (arguably) the best starting lineup to ever set foot on polished wood, try it this weekend. You won’t be disappointed.
Watch this series for
- Unbelievable feats of skill — that you don’t need to be a basketball fan to appreciate
- The story of a season that seems like it was prewritten for maximum drama and tension
- A reminder of just how cool the late 90s really were!
2. Cheer (Netflix)
Like a mini-version of Michael Jordan and co’s quest for the 98 NBA championship, this Netflix produced docu-series follows the Naravo college Cheer squad as they battle with personal issues and highly technical aerobatic routines on the quest for a place in the creme de la creme of cheerleading competitions — the National Cheerleading Association championship at Daytona Beach, Florida.
Watch this series for
- A STONE COLD yet utterly devoted and caring coach, in the form of Monica Aldama.
- Some heartwarming (and heartbreaking) stories behind the kids who have made cheerleading their life.
3. Moneyball (Netflix/Prime Video)
Available on Netflix or Amazon depending on where you’re located, this Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill biopic somehow aces the seemingly insane challenge of creating a tense and engrossing movie about the introduction of deep stats and computer modelling in early 2000s baseball. Opting for dramatization over docuseries, Moneyball features hardly any scenes of ballpark action and instead takes place in the back rooms and homes of two of the sport’s most unlikely innovators.
Watch this series for
- The particularly hilarious management meeting scenes, where disruptive head coach Brad Pitt blows the minds of an ageing, old fashioned, bone-headed board of stakeholders, by bringing in college-grad Jonah Hill.
- The satisfaction of seeing a computer nerd absolutely kill it in a world of bros.
4. Icarus (Netflix)
One of Netflix’s earlier Oscar wins, this documentary by Bryan Fogel takes a deep dive into Russia’s Olympic doping program, which saw a variety of bans levelled against Russian athletes in future competitions. Whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, along with a number of other immensely brave figures, helps the documentary-makers go deep into the high stakes world of international sporting competition.
Watch this series for
- A prime example of how a story about sports can act as a base for exploring politics, human nature, and the lengths that some will go to in order to win.
Other contenders
- Glow — The wild and crazy true story of the ‘Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling’ TV show — also made into a drama with Alison Brie.
- The Short Game — Justin Timberlake produces this endearing look into the 2012 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship (those kids ain’t taking no prisoners).
- Free Solo (National Geographic) — Not a Netflix show, but Alex Honold’s successful free solo climb of Yosemite’s El Capitan is a must-watch. (Just so we’re clear, free solo=without a rope.) Weirdly enough, knowing that he makes it to the top doesn’t stop your palms becoming drenched in sweat and your heart jumping into your mouth!
