5 Best Sports Docuseries To Stream While You're Stuck at Home
We're all stuck at home right now with no live sports to watch and we all agree it's awful. But fear not, if you need sports-related content, there's plenty on the streaming services you likely already have.
What follows are a list of docuseries that follow actual sports. We're not talking the picked over dramas or comedies you've definitely all seen before; no, this is real sports content you may not have seen. All of them are recently-released and if you haven't watched them yet, they're a form of new sports content for you to enjoy in these tough times.
All or Nothing: Manchester City
The rest of these series are all on Netflix, but Amazon knocked its entry on this list out of the park. The All or Nothing series is fantastic, but the Manchester City season was the best of the lot. It followed City's 2017-18 season where the club broke a number of Premier League records en-route to a championship.
The series is narrated by Ben Kingsley and follows closely as coach Pep Guardiola battles to keep his immensely talented squad from becoming complacent. It's a rare look behind-the-curtain at a Premier League powerhouse in the middle of a campaign.
The camera work, storylines and virtually unlimited behind-the-scenes access is stunning. I'm not a fan of City and don't have a Premier League rooting interest, but I was quickly sucked in by this eight-episode series. It's truly phenomenal.
Last Chance U
Last Chance U is fantastic television. Its four seasons are packed full of the kind of highs, lows and big personalities every great sports docuseries needs. Each season of the show documents a season at a junior college football program, as most of the players attempt to earn scholarships to Division I colleges. Many of the players are also trying to get their lives and careers back on track after having to leave Division I programs. Some of the kids have struggles in the classroom, others have broken rules -- or even the law -- and some are just looking for a fresh start.
The first two seasons followed perennial JUCO powerhouse East Mississippi Community College and volatile head coach Buddy Stephens. Seasons three and four moved to Independence, Kansas to follow Independence Community College and its brash, vulgar head coach Jason Brown.
The show has heart and is wildly entertaining, while also showing the rough side of life many of these players deal with. I highly recommend it. Over four seasons the show has pumped out 31 episodes and there is rarely any down time.
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
I'll be honest, I had no interest in Formula 1 before a buddy of mine suggested this series. Now I'm in it. The first season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive was fascinating, and the second season was even better.
The series goes behind the scenes and documents and entire season on the F1 circuit. It follows teams as they prepare for races, goes in-depth into the lives of the drivers and meticulously documents the history of the sport, and the deeply-embedded rivalries between the teams and drivers. It turns out, there's a ton of drama and long-simmering hatred that -- more often than not -- winds up boiling over onto the track.
It is a truly engrossing series that features some incredible camerawork during the racing. So far it has featured two 10-episode seasons but I'm all ready for a third season.
Not sold yet? Watch an episode and you'll be hooked. Trust me.
Basketball or Nothing
This show flew under the radar when it was released back in August of 2019, but it really is excellent. Basketball or Nothing follows the Chinle High School boys' basketball team as it chases an Arizona state title during the 2017-18 season. Why is it fascinating? Because Chinle located on the Navajo reservation, and basketball is the most popular activity there.
This six-episode season delves into the hardships high schoolers (and everyone else) have to deal with on the reservation. Many of the kids may never move beyond reservation life, so basketball means even more. Chinle had state title dreams despite a decided lack of size -- but they had quickness, shooting ability and heart.
Produced by professional golfer Notah Begay III (who is Navajo himself), the show is both thrilling and heartbreaking, but worth every moment.
QB1: Beyond the Lights
QB1: Beyond the Lights is most famous for introducing Tate Martell to the world. The brash high school quarterback wound up becoming one of the more fascinating college players of the last few years because of his social media activity and transfer from Ohio State to Miami. But the show itself was actually really well done.
The premise of the series is to follow some of the top high school quarterbacks in the country as they go through their senior seasons and prepare to make the next step to college football. So far it has featured Martell, Jake Fromm, Justin Fields, Tayvon Bowers, Spencer Rattler and more. It's an interesting look behind the scenes of high school football and the life of a top recruit.
The series is produced by Peter Berg, who is always good for a quality look into the sports world. It features 30 episodes over three seasons and is easily bingeable.