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David Beckham did not watch his Netflix documentary until it premiered, the streamer’s head of unscripted has revealed.
Brandon Riegg used the revelation to talk up how Netflix retained editorial control on the series, speaking to a debate in the docs world that has caught fire since last year’s Harry and Meghan documentary.
The former football star is an EP on the doc and his Studio 99 outfit produced the hit series but Riegg said “we did not give away full editorial control and retained the final cut.”
“We talk to all partners and want them to feel invested but also understand that our job is to tell the best version of that story,” said Riegg at Content London. “It’s no different to any relationship, you build up trust over time. David was aware what [director] Fisher Stevens was thinking but he didn’t actually watch the series until after it had premiered on Netflix. So he and Victoria came in as fans and they were pleased with how it turned out.”
Netflix has come in for some criticism for editorial control on docs such as Beckham and Harry & Meghan. Speaking to Deadline earlier this year, BBC docs boss Clare Sillery said Harry & Meghan would never have found a home on the channel for this reason. Following its premiere, a Sunday Times investigation found what it said were six examples of what it claimed to be a rewriting of history in Beckham.
Riegg, nevertheless, said the success of Beckham “validates” Netflix’s push into the “sports pop culture space,” giving a “reference point for other celebrities or talent who might be thinking about” turning the lens on themselves.
More sports shows are incoming, Riegg said, describing the sub-genre as the “most growing” area he oversees, while scotching the notion that Netflix will enter the live sports game. The talk came a day after Big Brother maker Banijay launched a sports division to tap into streamers’ growing appetite for the genre.
‘Squid Game: The Challenge’
Elsewhere, Riegg talked up latest hit Squid Game: The Challenge and said Netflix has been given “greater confidence to adapt similar scripted IP.”
He acknowledged that other adaptations would be “tougher” to make due to how well Squid Game lent itself to unscripted adaptation.
“The easier route would have been for us to just leave it alone and not dive into trying to adapt it but we are always up for a challenge,” he said, hailing the way in which producers Studio Lambert and The Garden “faithfully” recreated elements of the drama, for example using a squib mechanism to make it appear contestants are dying when they are eliminated.
Going forwards, Riegg wants to push further into the shiny floor, gameshow and live space.
He said Netflix “hasn’t cracked” successful shiny floor – citing rival’s successes such as Strictly Come Dancing and The Voice – and will be “focusing efforts” in the coming year.
Former NBC exec Riegg has been with Netflix for seven years, overseeing docs, reality and entertainment. He has shepherded hits including Love is Blind, The Circle and Queer Eye.
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