The big nothing burger

[theemptinessmachine]

Rumours are swirling that Netflix are unhappy with the Polo documentary. It's not something I would watch but who knows whether it will tank or not due to limited interest .

I know Polo is cruel to the horses which puts me off the topic straight away. I also expect it to be full of annoying, privileged men so will give it a miss.

It's not out until early December, so there's a while to go before anyone can say what the viewing figures will be like.

It's completely possible it'll be a competent programme about a niche sport with a side order of "lifestyles of the rich and famous" - that won't set the ratings alight, but will appeal to some (and Netflix do have other content of this sort)

Also what it is unlikely to do, is be sufficient to keep the Netflix deal alive when it expires next year. The snippets of commentary included in the OP suggest that what Netflix wanted as a programme with an "in" to the British Royal family - if that's accurate, then yes they haven't got what they wanted. Netflix have always been fairly discreet in public about their expectations though, and I think it's likely they must have known that after the first "kiss and tell", content would have to diversify

At least it's making it to air!

5 episodes?????

No one is that interested in Polo, especially when no big names are featured.

The only NF documentaries that sustain interest for that number of episodes have been about cults/murders/crazy stuff (thinking Wild Wild Country, Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey and even they weren't 5 episodes).

Ep 1. Men on horses chase a ball around a field.
Ep 2. Men on horses chase a ball around a field.
Ok, now I need something different.

I think there's a chance the Polo series could work but it would need to major on drama and scandal, with some kind of real human interest storyline and the polo just as a bit of a backdrop. And I think that's unlikely if the aim is to make Harry and Nacho look good.

What will be interesting to see is whether Netflix have been collecting any of their own footage over the time of the relationship with H&M, and if they've got any rights to use it (or if it all belongs to Archewell.) Because what I think would do really well for them, post contract expiry, is an expose on the pair of them, with people willing to talk to camera about their experience working with them - even better if they have any exclusive footage. It would certainly draw in viewers - and would be a taste of their own medicine.

Any candidate for this will bound by a strict NDA, unfortunately.

I agree there’s a chance a polo documentary could work if it wasn’t really about the polo- more about what goes on behind the scenes. A but like Drive to Survive. But they won’t have made it like that.

I think there's a chance the Polo series could work but it would need to major on drama and scandal

Jilly Cooper got there first 😉

I seem to remember Sussex fans talking up the Invictus documentary as if it was a wild success while actually it was a bit of a ratings flop.

If human interest 'Invictus' didn't cut it, endless braying toffs in jodphurs don't stand a chance.

Ep 1: saddles (Nacho sits in different saddles)
Ep 2: bridles (Nacho fondles bridles)
Ep 3: bits (Nacho yanks on bits)
Ep 4: horse shoes (Nacho glowers at tardy farrier)
Ep 5: stirrups (Nacho triumphantly stands up in his stirrups)

Maybe a dumbass question, but I wonder why Harry didn't decide to feature in his own documentary? Polo is something he plays, knows a lot about, and is associated with. He might actually had a real contribution to make to a subject, for a change 😁 I wonder why he didn't, just laziness and lack of interest? Or worried about the optics given the animal cruelty aspect. What do others think

He's been castigated for his cruelty to his ponies in the past (awful pictures of one of the ponies with blood down her sides from his spurs exist and another pony died unexpectedly after a match). He's no poster boy for the 'sport'.

Oh ok, that sounds awful. No I wouldn't want to watch anything where animals were harmed like that! Thanks for explaining

…..braying toffs in jodphurs… 😂

@AutumnCrow Ep3 - that will be the episode where Harry makes an appearance and we all get to see some nipple tweaking 😁.

@FanofLeaves perhaps, but not necessarily everybody and everything. After all the senior executive from Spotify came out and talked pretty openly about the experience of working with them. They'll have encountered a lot of people over the last few years and while undoubtedly people who were employed directly on the projects will be under NDA, there's bound to be others who aren't.

And who knows contractually who owns what footage? Perhaps H&M have complete control over everything, but they may not. It will certainly be interesting to see if Netflix do anything post termination of their contract with them. It would be hard to argue the contract has been successful for Netflix and if they've also been difficult to work with then they'd have no reason to want to protect their reputation.

And who knows contractually who owns what footage? Perhaps H&M have complete control over everything, but they may not

Given that they have made a mess of everything, such as getting the correct paperwork / payment in for trade marking, doing the basic admin etc.
I can imagine that they have let this slip as well.

Might Netflix be constrained by an NDA?

It will be interesting to see how it rates, I won’t watch. Can’t say that I’m interested in Polo or dressage, show jumping or horse racing for that matter. These ‘sports’ seem exploitative and cruel to the animal and I also feel bad for the gambling addicts that follow the racing. I live in a very deprived area and the betting shops are 10 a penny in areas like this, full of poor men getting into debt betting on racing.

I think that when celebs do documentaries they need to stick to something that they know about but also something that people are interested in. PH could do a documentary on losing a
parent, sibling rivalry or even hair transplants!

Well that sounds like a fun watch for the holiday season 😁.

Well Nacho Figueras is very easy on the eye. 5 episodes of him rather than Harry sounds like a win to me 😁

My horse vet told me that the worst injuries she sees are from polo, so I hate it now.

There is a chance it will be a banker for Netflix, given the success of Drive to Survive (a series about Formula 1 - six series to date, each with 10 episodes) and now Sprint (about athletics - the second season has just been commissioned after the first screen before the Paris Olympics). Both of those are Netflix productions and have been very popular.

I’d argue though that both F1 and world class athletics have more casual fans, more stars with name recognition and more known personalities than polo - the only players I could name would be Nacho, Harry, William and Charles! And that’s from someone with a passing awareness of the sport and a fan of the Jilly Cooper book. 🤣 So it’s likely to be a bit of a struggle with a mass market. If Harry is heavily involved and promotes it, that could make a difference?

I prefer competitive hobby horse riding.

That's adorable. Especially the dressage. And the fact it's for young girls to just 'be'.

As long as the Polo series doesn't feature Meghan trying to wrestle any awards off the players again 🤦‍♀️

Or Elizabeth Arden cream...

Oh I’m quite excited about this but tbh I’d watch cctv footage of a horse doing nothing*

*did anyone else used to watch foaling cams online in the noughties? 🤣

I've posted this before but this is a link to the 'humane' blunt spurs touted for sale and apparently acceptable:

https://www.rjpolo.com/polo-boots-spurs--accessories-22-c.asp

Nauseating but equally nauseating that Harold isn't the only royal that's ever abused animals for 'sport'.

Only one that's ever tried to capitalise on it though...

He looks like someone has stolen his top lip.