Netflixes announces USWNT multi-episode docuseries

The GIST: Netflix is officially in their women’s pro sports era. On Monday, the streamer announced a new multi-episode docuseries that will follow the USWNT on its journey to win a record-setting third straight WWC.

The details: The documentary will feature USWNT stars like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Alyssa Thompson, with more players to be revealed at a later date. Netflix intends to share a behind-the-scenes look at the tourney, including “the pressure, the euphoria, the joy, and the hardships” the players will experience.

• Notably, the narrative will also center around issues important to the USWNT, including LGBTQIA+ rights, equal pay, family, and motherhood.

The precedent: Netflix is no stranger to pro sports docuseries, recently releasing Break Point on the WTA and ATP, and the PGA’s Full Swing. Both come after its game-changing Formula 1: Drive to Survive series, which is currently recording its sixth season.

• Drive to Survive has been crucial for revving up interest in F1 within new demographics (especially young women) and bolstering viewership. The 2022 season averaged 521K viewers per race among viewers aged 18 to 49, a 29% increase from 2021.

• While the viewership success can’t be directlyattributed to Drive to Survive, it’s believed to be a major factor in, ahem, driving the sport’s popularity in recent years.

The lingering questions: The USWNT series will be Netflix’s first dedicated entirely to pro women’s sports. However, with the WWC only taking place every four years, how will this docuseries impact women’s soccer viewership on the whole? Will its effects trickle down to the NWSL? Or just impact individual players? Only time will tell.