Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Becoming’ On Disney+, A LeBron James-Produced Docuseries Where Star Athletes And Entertainers Go Back To Their Childhoods

Becoming is a series of short documentaries (not to be confused with the Michelle Obama book and film of the same name) about various sports and entertainment figures, all of whom go back to their hometowns and talk about what their formative years taught them about their current careers. LeBron James and Maverick Carter are the executive producers of this series (Bill Simmons is also an EP), and the series is made by ESPN Films, among other production companies.

BECOMING: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A shot of Ashley Tisdale, who we hear in voice over saying, “I always felt very confident as a young kid.”

The Gist: Since Disney didn’t have the first episode available for the press, and our choices were Rob Gronkowski, WNBA superstar Candace Parker, and Ashley Tisdale, so we picked Tisdale (other episodes profile Adam Devine, Anthony Davis, Cobie Cailait, Nick Kroll, Caleb McLaughlin, Julianne Hough and Nick Cannon). For one: Jersey Strong! And for two: Her turns on the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the immensely popular Disney Channel film High School Musical pretty much launched the 35-year-old’s career.

But what we find out during the episode is that, while Disney gave her her big break, she was going to have a pretty good acting career eventually. We hear from her mother Lisa and older sister Jennifer (her contractor father Mike didn’t participate; his desire to keep private was mentioned more than once); Ashley was such a cute kid that one day, while she was in her stroller in the local mall (remember: She was born in Ocean Township, NJ), a talent agent immediately sent her on an audition for a JC Penney ad. She booked it, and she absolutely steals it at the age of 3.

From there, she booked a number of ads, then joined the travelling companies of Les Mis and Annie. But her parents insisted on keeping her life as normal as possible, which meant being in public school when she was home. After a few years of being with her mom in Los Angeles, booking TV show guest spots and pilots that didn’t go, the whole family moved west, but Ashley almost gave up… until she was sent to read for The Suite Life.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Let’s call this Biography Lite. with the stars talking mostly about their ups and very little of their downs.

Our Take: Becoming is very obviously geared towards kids, designed to be inspirational and aspirational. And that’s just fine. It’s fun to see Tisdale walking through what we believe is the Monmouth Mall, talking about the stores she used to work at to keep her grounded (way back in the early 2000s, so… Abercrombie & Fitch!). But you’ll hear more about how determined and hard-working these stars are, and less about controversies surrounding them or real difficulties that they faced on their way to success.

Not that Tisdale is super controversial, mind you, but there will be no stories about any backstage crushes, or the oddities of being a star at such a young age. There was a smidge of discomfort at the crowds that gathered after HSM exploded in popularity; director Ken Ortega equates it to Beattlemania. All you’ll get here is a smidge of stuff like that.

The hubbub over her nose job? Nope. Appearing on the cover of Maxim? Uh-Uh. Her nude cover of Allure? Nah. These are things you can read about on her Wikipedia page, but they’re not germane to the uplifting message LeBron and Carter are trying to convey. But for the intended audience, these quickie biographies work reasonably well.

What Age Group Is This For?: This seems to appeal to the 11-and-up crowd. Ten-year-olds might like specific episodes about their favorite celebrities.

Parting Shot: “The whole goal in my life is doing work, and to do what I love.”

Sleeper Star: At this point, we’ll give this to Lisa and Jennifer Tisdale. We just wish we heard from Mike, who looks Jersey through and through.

Most Pilot-y Line: Someone needed to tame Tisdale’s vocal fry and use of the word “like.” She’s 35, not a teenager. It would have been fun to see her walk into one of the old stores where she worked, but obviously that would have needed clearances the producers didn’t have.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Becoming is an absolutely fine way for preteens and teens to find out about how their favorite celebrities grew up and became the stars they love. But they’re not in-depth profiles by any means.

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, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

Watch Becoming on Disney+