Your mum’s favourite singer, reformed boy band bad boy Robbie Williams, is getting the career retrospective documentary treatment. Is it us, or is there at least one of these a week now?
How to watch Robbie Williams in the UK
Robbie Williams is screening exclusively in the UK on Netflix from November 8.
Robbie Williams: Miniseries
What is Robbie Williams about?
Robbie Williams! Or, in more detail, this intimate four part documentary series traces the entire arc of the pop star’s life, from his formative years to his sudden, meteoric rise to fame as the youngest member of Take That, to his world-beating solo career. We also get a look at his (previously) chaotic personal life, taking in substance abuse, mental health issues, and how life in the tabloid pressure cooker exacerbates both.
We also get a look at Robbie as he is now: a 49-year-old father of four and perennial Christmas favourite. Director Joe Pearlman combines new interviews with archival material culled from some 30,000 hours of footage to offer up an intimate (but, let’s face it, carefully managed) portrait of one of the biggest UK recording artists of all time.
The cast of Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams! And there’s no other information at hand on that front. Presumably family and friends will be on hand to help tell the tale, and all kinds of folks are bound to show up in archival footage.
Robbie Williams trailer
Why we’re excited about Robbie Williams
Being cynical Gen X-ers we can truthfully attest that Robbie Williams was deeply uncool until about 2000, when the duet with Kylie made us reassess our position. Now he’s a cultural institution like no other, and we’re keen to go on a deep dive on how we got from there to here. Even if you’re not a fan, this should prove to be a fascinating journey through the last 30 years of British pop music.
