Netflix Launching Series Featuring Mahomes, Cousins, Mariota, Focused on Lives of NFL Quarterbacks
Netflix may not have any current interest in streaming live sports, but its lineup of sports-themed documentaries is becoming truly impressive. The service announced its first partnership with the NFL on Wednesday with a new series titled “Quarterback.”
“Quarterback” is a new docuseries that will go behind-the-scenes into the lives of some of the most famous signal-callers in the league, including Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota. The show will follow them on and off the field, from inside the huddle with teammates to inside their homes with their families. “Quarterback” is set to debut on Netflix in summer of 2023.
For the first time ever, the NFL allowed quarterbacks to be mic’d up for every single game of a season. The upcoming show will feature behind-the-scenes access to some of the biggest moments of the season, as Mahomes set an NFL record for total offense on his way to winning the league and Super Bowl MVP awards; Cousins engineered the greatest comeback in NFL history and led the Minnesota Vikings to an NFC North Division title; and Mariota took over as the starting quarterback in his first season with the Atlanta Falcons.
The series will be produced by NFL Films, Peyton Manning’s production company Omaha Productions, and Mahomes’ new production house 2P Productions.
“Playing quarterback in the NFL is a unique experience that has some pretty incredible ups and downs,” said Peyton Manning. “Thanks to this collaboration with our partners at NFL Films, 2PM Productions and Netflix, fans will be given a unique and intimate look at what life is like as a starting QB.”
This series will join Netflix’s existing lineup of sports documentary series. The success of the golf-themed “Full Swing,” the tennis-centric “Break Point” and the Formula 1-focused “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” for Netflix no doubt contributed to the show’s creation, as did the popularity of NFL content in general. The series will give NFL fans something to tide them over during the summer while they wait for the 2023 season to begin.
“We aim to give our members unprecedented access to the biggest athletes in the world, telling stories that you can’t see anywhere else,” said Brandon Riegg, VP of Unscripted and Documentary Series, Netflix. “And it doesn’t get any bigger than going inside the huddle with NFL quarterbacks, who hold perhaps the most important and difficult position in sports. We can’t wait to share their stories with our members around the world.”
While there are still no live games coming to the service in the near future, it’s clear that Netflix highly values sports-themed content. The popularity of such content might even cause Netflix to reconsider its position on pursuing sports rights in the future. The company was interested in acquiring Formula 1 rights in 2022, but ultimately lost out to ESPN.
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