Netflix has a new #1 show, and it’s a testament to the lasting appeal of NFL football. The original documentary series Receiver premiered on the streaming service on Wednesday, with all eight episodes available to binge. By Friday, it had unseated another hit Netflix series, The Man with 1000 Kids, as the #1 TV series on the platform.

The sports documentary series is a sequel to 2023’s Netflix series Quarterback, which profiled the league’s top play callers. Receiver is a natural follow-up, and follows the same formula, balancing the drama of the game with a look at the players’ personal lives. The families of the players are just as prominent in each episode’s storyline, allowing fans much more insight about the league’s biggest stars than Monday Night Football could ever provide.

The show follows the lives of five of the NFL’s top receivers: Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders, Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions, Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings, Deebo Samuels of the San Francisco 49ers, and George Kittle, also of the San Francisco 49ers. The series is produced by NFL MVP and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and legendary Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

The series follows the five players beginning in the summer of 2023, in the lead-up to the kickoff of the football season. The episodes then follow each player as the fortunes of their team rise and fall throughout the season, and even when the players themselves have to deal with injuries.

That includes Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Lions, who struggles with staying healthy and on the field, especially with his team finding success for the first time in years. It also provides a little-known look at his personal life, including a focus on his mother, who is German and taught him to be fluent in her native language. It’s a fascinating look at a player that most fans are just getting to know, and it has generated plenty of talk on social media from fans.

Receiver Looks at the Private Lives of NFL Players

There are plenty of series that cover the on-field drama of the NFL season, but Receiver spends much of its time off of the field and with the personal lives of the players featured. The cameras follow them home, and viewers get to know the wives, girlfriends, and children. The added depth of the personal connection to the players and their lives off of the field gives the series a unique angle.

With Mahomes and Manning as executive producers, and the cooperation of the NFL, the series has a particular “gloss,” providing a largely positive view of the game and the players’ lives. There is little controversy or negativity portrayed, and little discussion of concussions or drug and alcohol abuse. The players and their wives are obviously playing things up a bit with the cameras around, so the series at times feels less like Max’s Hard Knocks (which is a warts-and-all look at NFL life) and a bit more like The Kardashians.

When the focus shifts to the practice field and game day, the show really finds its footing. All the football drama fans could want is here, with miked-up players adding an inside look at the game. The sideline banter and the brutal competitiveness are front and center, and it is a fascinating watch. The personalities of the players are the draw in Receiver, and in that aspect, the show does not disappoint.