Well, it turns out Netflix really likes its football. Depp V Heard, the short miniseries documenting the contentious celebrity trial, has now been dethroned by yet another football-based program, the second one to hit the #1 spot after Quarterbacks did so a little while ago.
This new show is called Untold: Swamp Kings, part of a series of Netflix sports documentaries like 30 for 30, which has apparently been running since 2021. I do remember the Malice at the Palace one that opened the series (I am from Michigan, that was hard to forget), and the Manti Te’o one. But I guess this new one, about Urban Myers tenure with the Florida Gators in the 2000s, appears to be extremely popular. The series is just four episodes long, and sort of niche, so I’m not sure how long I expect it to stay on top here. The other football series, Quarterbacks, has already been renewed for season 2.
Depp V Heard is…over. No season 2 there. Why would there be? The series did not end up being particularly well-received a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, a hilarious 11% audience score. But hey, a lot of people watched it, which is what Netflix cares about.
Painkiller at #3, no surprise there as it slides down. An interesting newcomer to the list is The Chosen One, a show I’ve heard effectively nothing about, a Mexican series about a Messiah-like child.
Licensed series Ballers and Suits are still on the list, with Suits continuing its record breaking run as the most-watched licensed series ever on the service. Lincoln Lawyer is still strong, hanging on at #8. It has not yet been renewed for a third season, but I have to believe that’s inevitable.
At #10 in the list is probably the show that looks the most interesting to me, a Korean drama called Mask Girl which focuses on a girl who becomes a masked internet personality until a “chain of events” overtakes her life. If I had time, I’d probably give this is a shot, but I really don’t right now. Too many video games to play.
Netflix seems to be getting a ton of value out of its sports programs, and expect them to increase in volume. Not just because of their viewership, but because the Writers and Actors strike may force more reality-based, unscripted content like this once existing wells run dry.
Follow me on Twitter, Threads, YouTube, and Instagram.
Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Read the full article here