Overview:

Box to Box Films is a UK-based documentary production company who has emerged as a headlining studio for Netflix’s sports docuseries that has emerged as a renowned studio. Their style is very unique and tries to, “thoughtful, insightful and challenges the norms of the traditional sports documentary format.” (Box to Box Films) Some characteristics of the production company are to engage with relevant writers involved daily with the sports and slowly introduce viewers to the sport. They start from the basics by defining key terminology, while capturing the audience, engaging them from the start with dramatic story lines and video clip sequences. Their productions are also highlighted by the ways they build up the personalities of the athletes.

I will provide a brief overview of each of the series and assign each one a final score out of 5. They will include: reasons to watch and

Drive To Survive (Formula 1) – 4 Seasons (Season 5 Coming February 24)

In their debut and longest running sports docuseries on Netflix, Drive to Survive (DTS), Box to Box came boldly onto the scene with a visually stunning series about Formula 1 in 2019. Formula 1, the most watched car racing series in the world, had captivated fans from all over the globe, but had not become mainstream in the US. The series by Box to Box truly changed the American perspective and led to a massive growth in popularity of the sport in the US, evident by the 2 additional races in the season that have been added in the continental US.

One of the major factors that helped the series to grow the following of the sport is the unique and interesting lives of the drivers. Being the most popular racing series in the world also comes with the benefit of large paychecks for the drivers. The sport is surrounded by celebrity personalities, and lavish lifestyles are very common for most of the drivers and team executives. The writers were also able to capture and emphasize stories that made tension arise between teammates and adversary drivers. This gives the show a more soapy and dramatic feel, appealing to those that may not typically watch racing.

However, attempting to make the motorsport appeal to a broader audience ruffled some feathers of traditionalist fans. They have been upset by the ways in which the production of the show has taken quotes and events out of context to make them fit more broad story objectives. True fans of the sport feel that this makes the portrayal of the sport inaccurate and that it will lead to fans not wanting to actually watch the races once they discover the reality of the sport.

While I can understand the point of these critiques and acknowledge that they are very true, if not having watched DTS I would never have engaged with the sport, but instead am now an avid fan of 3 years. I have noticed that some of the personalities of drivers in DTS have not matched up to their real selves, but still enjoy watching the show when new seasons release yearly, just before the start of the next season, recapping the previous one.

Final Rating – 4.50/5

Who Should Watch: Those who are interested in the glamorous lifestyles and unique personalities of F1 teams and drivers.

Full Swing (PGA Tour) – 1 Season (Released February 15th)

Full Swing was produced at the perfect time coming in 2021. The tension and battle for power between the new LIV Tour and the established PGA Tour, created a great premise for the show to focus on. The discourse between them became very political as the main issue in under discussion was whether or not to join the LIV Tour in order to guarantee a large salary. However this comes with having to deal with the reality that the money came from funding based in Saudi Arabia who have been under fire for human rights violations.

Each episode zooms in for a closer look at a few golfers in a few key tournaments. While mostly the PGA Tour events and the major tournaments are highlighted, they include a few moments from LIV events to show the contrast in how the tournaments operate. The style in which the tournaments are followed to update the scoring throughout is also very clear and shows the progression of the golfers’ scores over the weekend.

This series has been my favorite of all of the Box to Box sports series. The personalities of the writers really help the narration and scene of what is happening in professional golf. The show can become dramatic at times, however in this series it is very warranted because of how hot the discussion about the struggle of LIV to take golfers away from the PGA, ultimately resulting in a lifetime ban for those golfers from competing in PGA events.

Final Rating – 4.75/5

Who Should Watch: Those interested in the rapidly changing professional golf scene who want to understand more about how money can make sports evolve.

Break Point (ATP Tour) – 1 Season (Part 2 Coming June 2023)

Break Point was released on January 13th, 2o23, a series to highlight the ATP Tennis Tour, the world’s highest level of competitive tennis. This first and only season released so far has had half of the episodes (5) released, with more on the way in part 2 coming in June. The episodes that have been released to date include moments from the Roland-Garros (French Open): a major tournament, Indian Wells, and the Madrid Open. The series has mostly focused on younger, upcoming players as it hopes to be able to grow along with the careers of the rising stars.

The series focuses on both pro men and women competitors. Yet again, Box to Box uses key sportswriters to add and enhance the situation surrounding each competitor, developing their personalities further. Another point of interest in this series has been the way in which the bracket of each tournament is broken down and the pairings of the matches are built up before their results are shown. It creates a heightened sense of importance with the upcoming match.

While many people with an outside view, including myself, do not see tennis as a particularly interesting sport, I have definitely gained more of an interest in the sport and want to go see a tournament in-person now.

Final Rating – 4.25/5

Who Should Watch: Those with an interest in a sport that seems underappreciated and more advanced than people think.