On the heels of David Beckham's headline-making documentary, it's Robbie Williams' turn to get the Netflix documentary treatment. The pop star has gone into the details of his career and personal life’s ups and downs over the years. Here’s everything to know about the show…
When will the Robbie Williams documentary be out?
Fans of Robbie won’t have long to wait, as the four-part show will be released on Wednesday 8 November on Netflix. In the meantime, check out the gripping trailer here.
What can we expect from the Robbie Williams documentary?
Netflix’s official synopsis reveals that we are going to learn more about Robbie’s past struggles than we ever knew before with thousands of hours of footage. It reads: "Robbie Williams is one of the world’s greatest entertainers. As he approaches 50, a dad of four with a loving wife and a young family, he’s also somewhere near content. Been there, done that, settled and happy.
"But Robbie can’t escape his past — and his past has all been captured on film in thousands of hours of behind-the-scenes footage he has never seen. Until now. Robbie’s way of exorcising his demons is to go back through every single frame, every up and every down.
"Platinum albums, sell-out gigs, adoring crowds; drink, drugs, rock bottom and whatever comes next when you get there and you can’t stop digging. This is a story of unimaginable fame at a tender age — and the price you pay."
Who is directing the Robbie Williams documentary?
The show was directed by Joe Pearlman, who is something of a music documentarian legend. He made the hugely entertaining documentary Bros: When the Screaming Stops, as well as Lewis Capaldi" How I’m Feeling Now. For Harry Potter fans, he was also the director of Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts.
How did Robbie Williams react to the documentary?
Joe revealed that he doesn’t allow his subjects editorial input, unlike David Beckham’s recent documentary, telling the Telegraph: "The deal is you’ve got to trust me. What [director] Fisher [Stevens] was able to do with David is amazing; plenty of other approaches would be very football-heavy, but he really made it accessible for the masses, as you can see by the numbers.
"But I’m always looking for characters that are willing to go deeper and to talk about everything, where nothing’s off the table, who are not as concerned about protecting the brand."
After watching the screening with Robbie, according to Joe, he said: "My God, you know how to polish a turd." He added: “That says it all. That’s how Robbie sees himself. To me this was one of the biggest filmmaking opportunities I could possibly imagine, but to Rob he’s a piece of [expletive] on the floor that I am trying to sort out."
Speaking at the show’s launch, Robbie told reporters: "That was a trauma trip… I’ve just been delving into mental illness, alcoholism and drug addiction. And then I'm watching it, all of those episodes. What is important to me is that I get to control some of the narrative. This is me controlling some of the narrative."