Season two of Netflix’s SPRINT has finally dropped, and the internet is once again being very vocal! Track Twitter is extremely critical and negative. While I think I understand Netflix’s intent, I’m also critical, and I’ll tell you why.
Let me start by saying that if people are watching, then Sprint has succeeded. The idea is to be a PR piece for the sport. Which means that the audience it’s looking for isn’t necessarily made up of track nerds and lifelong fans. Netflix is hoping to attract people that aren’t normally watching track and field. I believe I understand what they were trying to do. To get the audience engaged with the personalities of the athletes. Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley, Sha’Carri Richardson, Shericka Jackson and a few others. Athletes that naturally tell their own stories, and that were legitimately at the middle of the race for Olympic medals.
With that, clearly the Olympics was the focus of the show. That makes sense because it’s an event that the general public identifies with. The public sees the Olympics as the ultimate competition, and all eyes are trained on it. So was Netflix. Leading them to create a show around the Trials and the Games. Did it work? I don’t know. I’m not sure if we will know. It depends on how Netflix gathers information. Whether all they gather are pure numbers. Or if they’re able to separate traditional fans from new fans. Hopefully, non fans found it entertaining enough to want to see more. I can tell you that the track world was not impressed.
Personally, I too was rather disappointed. Starting with it being only four episodes. Twenty twenty four was a very exciting season. Yes, a bit “slow” to begin, but it picked up nicely prior to Nationals. After that, the run up to Paris was great. None of that footage outside of the Trials was used. If the goal was to show the audience what the lead up to the Olympics is like, then a fantastic opportunity was missed. Both in terms of on the track competition, and human stories. Because it’s during the lead up to the top two events – Trials & Games – that the stories develop!
To that end, all of the stories are not about the 100m event. Many lie within the 200m and 400m. Unfortunately Sprint chose to focus on the 100m. With tit 200m portrayed as an afterthought. A grave mistake in my opinion. For one, there are three sprinting events. So the opportunity to truly showcase speed and it’s different forms was lost. Each race being compelling in its own right. More importantly, given that story telling seems to have been the focus, Netflix missed out on some of the year’s best stories – even when looking at the 100m. There was nothing about high schooler Christian Miller, leading the world for much of the early season. Then fighting for, and just missing, a spot on the US team. Or Jacious Sears becoming a legitimate challenger. Until succumbing to injury. Injury is a constant threat to sprinters. Showing that could have prefaced what happened to the Jamaican women. For example, showing the return of Abby Steiner fighting back from injury. Then just missing making the team. There were Letsile Tebogo and McKenzie Long dealing with the deaths of their mothers, on the way to Paris. I won’t list every single story, but this year’s journey to, and at Paris had a multitude of compelling stories and the athletes behind them.
These were discarded in deference to focusing on the rivalry between the US and Jamaica. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent story, but a story in isolation of the sport, and one that’s only been complete (men & women) for only a small history of the sport. Roughly 2004 thru 2016. A period that is fresh in track fans minds perhaps, but not necessarily the sell for the sport. Especially given the current multinational composition of the sprints. As for Jamaica v the US, it’s usually only one gender or the other however. Just as this year it reduced to the men and the 100m. This is what made it easy to condense into four episodes. Four episodes that were full of negativity in my opinion. As the focus on the Jamaican women, ended with none of their top women competing in Paris!
The story between Noah and Kishane was nice, but without enough going on during the season. As it was a manufactured rivalry and not one based on head to head competition. Simply one nation vs the other. Not two athletes at odds. A mistake when there were many studio rivalries out there to draw from. They also under played Lamont Jacobs redemption arc. Having repeat champions is rare. So are repeat finalists. To have Jacobs and Kerley in the finals, was a huge potential story without focus. Especially for Jacobs who hadn’t been healthy since Tokyo!
The rise of African Sprinters, was another missed story. The men’s final had men from Kenya (Omanyala), Botswana (Tebogo), and South Africa (Simbine). The composition of the final itself was unique. Two Americans, two Jamaicans, three Africans and a mixed race European, born in the US to a black American father. Creating a final where all roads lead to Africa! That alone could have been an awesome story in my opinion.
I could go on, but my point is this. Even with a focus on the Olympic finals, there were many opportunities to give the public reasons to find sprinting interesting. Netflix chose one, the US v Jamaica rivalry. Half of which didn’t materialize. Not only that, but it put” focus on a champion that failed – Sha’Carri. So that half of the four episodes were about failure. I’m not sure that’s how you compel people to continue watching! Yes, people like to watch a good train wreck. They also want to see speed, drama, redemption, and the unexpected. This past season had all of those things in droves – and it was missed.
I’m not sure who Netflix used as consultants for the show. I assumed some individuals familiar with the sport given that the production was surrounded by track and field people. I almost hope that’s not the case, because I’d like to think track people would have advised differently. Of course, that should have resulted in a different product than what was put onto the screen. In any case, I’m hoping that we get another season. One a bit broader. That looks at different athletes and stories. Perhaps simply aimed at the season itself and follows developing stories. A season that’s a bit more, organic. As I believe that story would actually be more captivating and enjoyable. It seems to me that the inherent problem with Sprint Season 2, is that Netflix chose a story initially that didn’t play out. Noah didn’t double, let alone quadruple. Sha’Carri didn’t repeat her win from Budapest. There was no real Jamaica v United States rivalry going down in Paris. And Netflix was not prepared to pivot to other stories. Even though as I illustrated, there were many opportunities available. At the end of the day, I hope that that is the lesson learned. That track and field has many outstanding athletes. With many stories waiting to be told. Just follow the results and tell those stories.