Receiver Review 2024 Tv Show Series Cast Crew Online
“They say there’s not a more difficult position in sports than NFL quarterback,” voices Hall of Famer Peyton Manning–recognizable even before his face comes on screen–over a montage of passers dropping back and getting sacked. “But the truth is, throwing a pass is only half the story. With all due respect to offensive linemen, a quarterback’s best friend is this guy.” We see a highlight from Manning’s Indianapolis Colts days, airing out a pass that’s hauled in for a touchdown by Marvin Harrison Sr. “The receiver. The lightning-quick wideout, screaming down the field…” Before Peyton can go on too long, he’s interrupted by someone more appropriate for the season–Randy Moss, one of the greatest receivers of all time.
The Gist: As the name would suggest, Receiver is set to profile some of the best wide receivers in the NFL today. The show’s roster features five star pass-catchers: the Las Vegas Raiders’ Davante Adams, the Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, and the San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. As Moss suggests in his intro, we’re following these five through the 2023 season “as they balance their daily grind with their pursuit of greatness”, through a mix of game footage and interviews with the players and their teammates.
There’s a popular tweet from a few years back, from Twitter user Denny Carter, that I think of when I think of the difference in personalities between quarterbacks and receivers. “Typical QB tweet: I love my teammates god is good! WR tweet: the enemy speaks kindly and holds a knife.”
Obviously, it’s exaggerated for comic effect, but it’s often true that NFL quarterbacks are, well, kinda boring in real life. This was evident in Netflix’s Quarterback, where–despite their great on-field success–we got confirmation that stars like Kirk Cousins are barely a step above cardboard cutouts in terms of personality.
Wide receivers, on the other hand, are often known for their big personalities–we’re talking guys like Chad Ochocino, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham Jr., and so on. If Netflix’s Receiver is to shine, in my opinion, we need to see some freakish intensity on display.
Thankfully, we don’t have to wait long. After segments in the first episode introducing us to the already-familiar George Kittle and Deebo Samuel, we jump to the Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown. He recalls a story from youth football, where he and his father learned that another player caught 200 passes a day from a JUGS machine–and so he quickly resolved to catch 202, a practice he’s kept up all the way into the NFL. He recalls his anger at being drafted in the fourth round in the 2021 NFL Draft, and suggests that he can remember all sixteen receivers picked ahead of him in that draft. He then proves it by reciting all sixteen names in order, and shows the handwritten list of those names that he keeps in a notebook and reads before every practice and every game. “Once I read that notebook, it’s on, let’s go.” That’s the stuff!
If you’re familiar with Quarterback, then Receiver will be quite familiar–it’s a highly-polished mix of interviews, off-the-field reality-TV-ish segments and game footage. To an extent, it’s an extended advertisement for the players (and the league), but it’s a well-done advertisement, on par with the classic NFL Films segments and great catnip for avid football fans. Dropping it in July–when the season is a little under two months away–is a great way to get geared up early.
