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Canberra Today 11°/15° | Wednesday, May 15, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Netflix kicks a streaming goal with ‘Beckham’

David Beckham… “Beckham” is an intimate look at the private life of the international soccer star and his wife Victoria.

Soccer boots on, “Streaming” columnist NICK OVERALL dribbles through the chart-topping “Beckham” documentary series.

NETFLIX has well and truly kicked itself a goal this month.

Nick Overall.

The streaming giant’s new doco series “Beckham”, which promises an intimate look at the private life of the international soccer star and his wife Victoria, has raced to the top of the streaming charts.

In its first week alone the four-part series has attracted more than 12 million viewers and at time of writing remains at the number 1 spot of Netflix’s most watched shows.

That’s not to mention the fact that it’s also netted the famous midfielder more than half a million new social media fans to boot.

So why has this new series generated so much hype?

Netflix is no stranger to offering viewers a look at celebs behind closed doors. From Beyoncé to Britney Spears to the fiasco that was “Harry and Meghan”, the formula has proven a surefire winner whether viewers love it or, as we saw with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, hate it.

But “Beckham” has been able to capitalise on two types of viewers.

For those who can’t resist a close-up look at the lives of celebrities this one ticks all the boxes, but the doco also cleverly doubles up as a treat for sport fans.

It charts Beckham’s rapid rise through the ranks of Manchester United and how he went on to become one of the greatest players of all time, while also offering a look behind the curtain at one of the most famous couples on Earth and the toll that fame has on a relationship.

There’s also a refreshing amount of comedy here.

To call the “Harry and Meghan” doco humourless would be an understatement, but peppered throughout “Beckham” are moments of light heartedness that keep it well afloat.

In one particularly amusing scene, Victoria attempts to lament her “working-class upbringing” to camera, only to have David poke his head in from the adjacent room telling her “Be honest. What car did your dad drive you to school in?”

The answer is a Rolls-Royce.

“Beckham” may be trashy TV but it certainly looks good while doing it. No red cards from me.

IT’S not the only doco generating talk this month. Another new series now streaming on Netflix has shone a spotlight on the health crisis of the modern age.

“Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul” attempts to explain how a whole new generation got addicted to smoking, diving deep into the phenomenon of vaping and where it came from.

It turns out these devices were the brainchild of two ambitious design students at Stanford University who wanted to create a cigarette that “wouldn’t be bad for you”. Next thing they knew, they’d unleashed an epidemic of teen smoking.

In an era where barely a day goes by without headlines bombarding us with the dangers of these devices, “Big Vape” provides an informative look at the phenomenon and a cautionary tale of the power of big tech.

IT’S certainly the month for documentaries, with another on Amazon Prime Video offering viewers an inside look at one of Australia’s most iconic bands.

They’ve sold more than 30 million albums, taken out the number 1 song in the Triple J Hottest 100 and have been labelled Australia’s top-earning entertainers four years in a row.

INXS? Silverchair? AC/DC?

All would be sound guesses, but actually, it’s The Wiggles.

The popularity of the colourful skivvy-wearing quartet is more astonishing in scale than many realise. “Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles” charts the band’s humble beginnings as “The Cockroaches” through to their international stardom, which has earned them the amusing title “The Beatles for toddlers”.

That’s not just the case here in their home country but also overseas, where they sell tens of thousands of tickets to shows in America, the UK and Asia.

Make no mistake, while the show may be about “The Wiggles” it’s certainly much more likely to appeal to adults than kids.

I found myself surprisingly compelled by the doco’s aim to pinpoint precisely why the band has been able to appeal to so many children from so many countries for so many years.

From soccer stars to smoking teens to big red cars. All in a day’s work.

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

Nick Overall

Nick Overall

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