Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Losers’ On Netflix, A Docuseries About Athletes Who Have Thrived Through Failure

We’ve seen plenty of documentaries about what it’s like to win. But have we seen ones about what it’s like to lose? Not a whole lot of those, aren’t there? But a new Netflix docuseries, Losers, interviews athletes that have experienced bitter defeats and how they’ve used those losses to make their lives better. Read on for more on this show…

LOSERS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Queens, NY, the hometown of former heavyweight champion Michael Bentt.

The Gist: Losers is a docuseries that takes a very interesting perspective: Instead of portraying winners, they portray athletes and teams that have struggled and, more often than not, failed. What director/executive producer Mickey Duzyj is looking at in this docuseries is the fact that in a society where “winning is everything,” can we learn more by how the people who didn’t quite reach the top persevered, or thrived by learning from their failures?

The first episode profiles Bentt, who never wanted to be a boxer, but his emotionally distant, physically abusive father wanted to live vicariously through his son, so he forced Bentt to go through the amateur ranks, to the point where he became a multi-year amateur champion. Did he want to go pro? Hell, no. But he also wanted to get out from under his father’s thumb, and he felt that this was the only way.

After a disastrous first fight, Bentt eventually fights his way to a match with then-WBO champion Tommy Morrison, whom he knocked out in the first round. But after that, his heart wasn’t into it, and he was knocked into a coma by his next opponent. But since then, Bentt’s life has settled into something he really enjoys, where he acts, works as boxing consultant for film and TV and trains actors like Harold Perrineau.

Our Take: Mickey Duzyj and his fellow producer Adam Goldberg (not the Goldbergs producer, and probably not the actor) are onto something with Losers. Think about it: How many of us have experienced the pinnacle of whatever sport we’ve played, whether it’s the pros or even beer-league softball? Not many of us, right? So wouldn’t we relate more to the thousands upon thousands of people who failed than to the Tom Bradys of the world (who, by the way, has lost 3 Super Bowls, so he also knows failure)?

The docuseries is a fascinating look at how athletes learn from their failure, and take the losing as just another challenge towards bigger and better things. In the case of Bentt, it’s not just the fact that he got knocked out of boxing, but because he only boxed because he wanted to get away from his abusive father. The fact that a guy who didn’t even want to box managed to hold a heavyweight title for any period of time is actually quite remarkable, when you think about it.

Other episodes go all over the sports landscape, from dogsled racers to curlers to second-division soccer teams to street hoops legends. All of the episodes have the same arc: Bitter defeat leads to unexpected success. Anyone who is reeling should watch this series to inspire them and make them realize that the dark times are just what we experience on the way to better times if you have the right frame of mind.

Sex and Skin: Nothing.

Parting Shot: Bentt sitting in a park at twilight, with his voice over saying, “I’m always chasing, like, ‘who am I?’ And that’s OK.”

Sleeper Star: Lots of good interviews in this episode — Ron Shelton and Larry Merchant, among others — but holy hell, is it fun to see Mickey Rourke talk about training with Bentt. It’s fun watching Mickey Rourke talking, period.

Most Pilot-y Line: Nothing we could find.

Our Call: STREAM IT, especially when you’ve had a tough day and need some inspiration.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Stream Losers on Netflix