For the last few years, other sports have been gazing jealously at the success Drive to Survive has brought to Formula 1.
The popularity of the motorsport has grown massively since the debut of the Netflix series, bringing a whole new generation of fans to an organisation that was once considered to be in quite a bit of trouble. Viewerships, attendances, and general interest have grown through the roof.
As a result, other sports have become far more open to the idea of green lighting their own behind the scenes shows.
Rugby is next in line, with Netflix set to record a fly-on-the-wall documentary during the 2023 Six Nations.
It is an exciting development, although not all of those involved in the game are fully convinced by the move.
Warren Gatland has concerns over Netflix Six Nations documentary
Netflix are set to be given unprecedented access to all six teams during the upcoming tournament and it will be interesting to see what sort of footage they can capture. Dressing room shots are sure to make up quite a bit of the final product, something that concerns Warren Galtland.
Speaking ahead of the first round of games next weekend, the Wales head coach said that some of the stuff said in a dressing room ahead of a game may not go down all that well with certain audiences.
As well as that, he has concerns over the fact that the teams involved won't have a final editorial say on the product, something that had been the case during past documentary he was involved in during Lions tours (h/t The Guardian).
I can tell you now that in a rugby environment, when you are talking about creating emotion, the language used isn’t always appropriate. Especially when you’re talking about nations playing each other...
In the past when we’ve had the crews that have been involved with Lions and Wales, what’s been really important is their ability to create a relationship with the players and the coaching team, so it’s almost like they become an invisible part of it.
Then you find yourself just carrying on with your normal routine, because of the trust that you build up with them. So that’s the challenge with Netflix. At the moment my understanding is that we don’t have any editorial rights and that is a little bit of a concern because you want to make sure you are able to protect yourself...
Sometimes you say something that is a little bit out of kilter when you’re trying to get the best out of players, or they’re trying to get the best out of each other.
Some of the things that get said in the changing room might not be stuff that you actually always believe, but it’s part of getting the best out of your performance. And then afterwards you’re all friends and mates again.
So there’s a few things that we need to be conscious of, and iron out. The last thing we need is to be bland in the way it comes across but I’m also conscious that we need to protect ourselves, too. That’s pretty important.
The unsanitised nature of the show is something that may concern Gatland, but it is no doubt something fans are looking forward to seeing.
It will be very interesting to see how the final product turns out.
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