The 8 best sports TV series that dropped on Netflix in 2020

Cobra Kai, The Queen's Gambit, The Last Dance, and more
Dec 21, 2020

REMEMBER that time in the middle of the year when we had no idea when sports leagues were going to come back?

Along came The Last Dance to save the day.

“The perfect remedy for sports withdrawal,” said The Vulture. It “gave us something to fill the gaping sports void,” wrote Esquire. Meanwhile, The Atlantic said that the series “gets to the heart of what makes live sports such an important fixture of everyday life.”

Amen to that.

The Last Dance joins these seven other sports (and sports-adjacent) series and documentaries that you can watch on Netflix.

Sneakerheads

Released a few months ago to so-so reviews, Sneakerheads is still worth a watch because of its lighthearted look at kicks culture. You can spot a lot of celeb cameos like the Air Jordan 1 “Off-White” and the Nike Air Yeezy 2 “Red October,” as well as actual celeb cameos. The six short episodes take our characters on a jetsetting trip to score a fictional grail: The Air Jordan Zero.

The Playbook: A Coach’s Rules For Life

Executive produced by LeBron James, this docu series takes a look at the mentors behind some of the biggest athletes in the world. Getting one episode each are the US WNT’s Jill Ellis, Serena Williams’ Patrick Mouratoglou, South Carolina Women’s Basketball Coach Dawn Staley, and legendary football mentor Jose Mourinho. Interestingly enough, the first ep takes a look at the Clippers’ Doc Rivers — obviously filmed and released before he stepped down as head coach.

Cobra Kai

Released last 2018, this show once again shot up in popularity this year when Netflix finally picked it up. The sequel to Karate Kid — starring the same actors and a new generation of martial arts kids — packs the same heart and underdog spirit of the original ‘80s movies, in fast-paced half-hour episodes that are perfect for binge watching. Netflix made a good choice in snapping this one up. Season 3 will arrive in January.

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Ahiru No Sora

Slam Dunk for a new generation? Our reviewer seemed to think so when he published his review last January.

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Now, you can check it out for yourself, as 50 episodes of the basketball anime finally made it to Netflix PH just this year. The show starts off slow, but as our review says, “The story will slowly build up its cardboard-thin introductions into real, interesting people you’ll be glad to root for.” Eventually, you’ll find yourself rooting hard for these underdogs.

Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Season 2

Drive to Survive takes you for another lap of high-stakes, real-life motorsports drama as it takes a peek at what went on under the chassis of the 2019 F1 championship. For season 2, which dropped last February, Ferrari and Mercedes finally let the docu series’ camera crew into their secretive paddocks. Perhaps one Ferrari-centric episode wasn’t enough to cover all the drama that happened to the team that season, but hey, we’ll take what we can get.

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Cheer

Want to know exactly how grueling cheerdance is? Just binge this documentary series. Spin.ph’s Kate Reyes — a former cheerleader herself — said in her review that the show provides “a profound insight into both the grueling reality they have to endure as athletes, and the things that are never seen on the mats — their day-to-day personal struggles.”

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After watching this series, we promise you: You’ll never look at cheer competitions the same way again.

The Queen’s Gambit

Who knew a series about chess would be one of the year’s most explosive hits?

Widely touted to be one of 2020’s best shows, The Queen’s Gambit takes flight on the sexy period details of its 1950s and 1960s setting, its dramatic portrayal of chess, and the intense acting of its lead, Anya Taylor-Joy. It made chess so glamorous that the show is single-handedly fueling a renaissance in the sport.

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The Last Dance

The Last Dance did it all this year. It kept us glued to our screens, even if we already knew the outcome. It royally pissed off a lot of people. It cemented Michael Jordan’s legacy for a new generation of fans. And, in the middle of a terrible year, it gave us the sports fix we all badly needed.

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