Netflix's new no.1 documentary deserves its 97% Rotten Tomatoes audience score

Beckham, Netflix's new docu-series about the British star, isn't just for footie fans – it's just a great watch

Beckham screengrab
(Image credit: Netflix)

Another week another new Netflix number one has risen to the top of the stack (in the UK anyway, it's actually number two in the USA chart at the time of writing). It's a Netflix documentary series about one of the most famous Brits of modern generations: footie superstar David Beckham (or 'soccer star', if you're from over the pond).

Beckham, as it's so titled, is a four-part series – and while critics have generally responded with enthusiasm to Fisher Stevens' direction, it's actually the audience that's doled out the most love: at the time of writing there's a major 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Back of the net, eh? You can watch the Beckham trailer below: 

What I particularly enjoy about Beckham (the show, at least, I've never met the man) is that although it covers his football career, it's so much more than that. I'm not really into football like most of my friends, but the series goes far and wide to cover the star's history, his highs and lows, and the result is enthralling.

I think that's great to see Netflix's ongoing breadth on offer – and why it's considered one of the best streaming services. From the Anime-adapted action series, One Piece, to the hard-hitting docu-drama, Painkiller, there's been huge variety – not that all of it has been so well received as Beckham (Who Is Erin Carter?, for example, has a pretty harsh score).

So whether you're a footie fan or not, in a similar vein to Disney+'s superb Welcome To Wrexham – which follows the club's development after it was bought by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – there's something here for everyone to appreciate. Although this one's not quite so funny, I must say, but I was still hooked nonetheless.

Once you're done watching all four episodes, whether you fall for the star's charms and family affairs or not (that's his mother in the embedded gallery above), there's plenty more to come from the streaming service. It might not be footie-based, of course, but Squid Game: The Challenge, coming 22 November, looks to be an entertaining real-world game show take on the original...

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Mike Lowe
Tech Editor

Mike is T3's Tech Editor. He's been writing about consumer technology for 15 years and his beat covers phones – of which he's seen hundreds of handsets over the years – laptops, gaming, TV & audio, and more. There's little consumer tech he's not had a hand at trying, and with extensive commissioning and editing experience, he knows the industry inside out. As the former Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint for 10 years where he furthered his knowledge and expertise, whilst writing about literally thousands of products, he's also provided work for publications such as Wired, The Guardian, Metro, and more.