The Pogmentary, Prime Video’s new lavish look at the life of former Manchester United and future Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, broke records, but not the kind Prime Video had hoped for.
The documentary was released on Prime Video on June 17 and was billed as an exclusive, all-access look at Pogba’s life, family and career, focusing on how he became the football player he is today. However, it did not go down well with viewers.
The show quickly became the lowest-rated show on IMDB in the site’s history. (opens in new tab)currently only one star out of 10. More than 10,500 votes were cast for the documentary, with nearly 93% of them giving only 1/10.
By way of comparison, God’s Favorite Idiot’s new Netflix comedy, which received a universal kick from critics, currently holds a 5.7 rating on the site, far above the Pogmentary.
What are voters saying?
Lots of not-so-nice things. (opens in new tab)Particularly drawing the ire of spectators is a scene in which the player describes an offer for a new contract extension of $367,000 (£300,000) per week proposed by Manchester United as “nothing”.
One review described the Frenchman as “An overrated, overpriced, well-paid footballer who thinks he’s the center of the football universe, a leaker and a veritable virus for any locker room!” while another called it “Worst documentary I’ve ever watched.” .”
Most of the criticism was reserved for Pogba himself and his rather large ego, but the show’s structure also took a beating, with one writer adding, “How can a documentary be so bad, totally unexpected from a platform like Amazon. Really? poorly structured and a total waste of time.”
The show has yet to receive a Rotten Tomatoes rating, but so far it has an audience score of 0%, so it’s unlikely to be good news…
Is it possible it’s just a bunch of rival fans spamming the site?
Given that Pogba is currently, though likely only briefly, without a club, Prime Video execs won’t be able to attribute this reaction to angry fans of Liverpool, Manchester City or even United, the club Pogba has just rejected.
This writer went through a single episode of the documentary and was surprised, but not in a good way. It is incoherent, poorly structured, and offers no insight into Pogba’s strengths or weaknesses. It delves into strange animated sequences before returning to footage of the player at home with his wife and children.
Prime Video has made some brilliant sports documentaries in recent years with their All or Nothing series. The series, which has documented full seasons with Manchester City, Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as with the New Zealand All Blacks and Canadian ice hockey team Toronto Maple Leafs, is thrilling. It is also very clearly done without interference from the club and the players.
To film All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur, for example, the team used 25 remotely operated fixed cameras and 66 ambient microphones, which were installed at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the club’s training center at Enfield, plus a film crew following The team.
Pogba’s documentary, meanwhile, has the feel of a show filmed with the player standing over the director’s shoulder, often stepping in to cut all the juicy bits.
All those who watched the show clearly felt the same way.
Looking for a good sports drama? Here’s a show we can really get left behind.