Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians is a 2019 Indian sports documentary television series that follows the 2018 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, the Mumbai Indians, as they seek to defend their 2017 championship. The series was produced by Condé Nast Entertainment and premiered worldwide on Netflix on 1 March 2019. Cricket Fever is the first international series produced by Condé Nast Entertainment,[1] and the first Indian sports documentary on Netflix.[2]
| Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sports documentary |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Matthew Abeysekera |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | Steve Lidgerwood |
| Editor | Steve Prestimon |
| Running time | 40 minutes |
| Production company | Condé Nast Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | 1 March 2019 |
Synopsis
editThe eight-part series begins with the 2018 IPL auction and ends with Mumbai Indians final league stage match after they failed to make the playoffs of the 2018 season.
Episodes
edit| No. in season | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | "Mumbai! Mumbai!" |
| 2 | "Superstars vs. Superstars" |
| 3 | "Fearless Cricket" |
| 4 | "Bad to Worse" |
| 5 | "Grudge Match" |
| 6 | "Put up a Fight" |
| 7 | "Make or Break" |
| 8 | "We Live to See Another Day" |
Production
editCondé Nast Entertainment Executive Vice President Alexander Edgington stated that a show about cricket was viewed as an obvious option in its discussions with Netflix to create content targeting the Indian market. Edgington stated, "In India, cricket is absolutely part of everyone's DNA. The things that people are about in India are Bollywood and cricket. The challenge was to make it appeal to people who only have a little familiarity with the game, but also to appeal to Indian audiences who don't need it to be explained what a googly is." Edgington also stated that one of the reasons for selecting the Mumbai Indians as the focus of the series was because the team is owned by the Ambani family, and he felt that they would also attract interest from audiences.[3]
On 4 February 2019, Netflix announced that the series would be released in 190 countries on 1 March 2019.[2][4]
Reception
editFirstpost's review of the series noted, "despite a flaw or two, Netflix docu-series on Mumbai Indians has enough novelty to keep you invested".[5] Medium wrote that the "main problem that Cricket Fever suffers from is the lack of a focused narrative" but concluded that "if you're an Indian and if you are a Mumbai Indians or IPL fan, Cricket Fever is a must watch."[6]
The Indian Express and The Hindustan Times gave the series a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5.[7][8] NDTV gave the series a rating of 3 stars out of 5.[9]
Decider felt the series was enjoyable even for viewers who are not familiar with cricket, writing, "Listen, we know nothing about cricket; but that doesn’t mean that we found Cricket Fever boring. Quite the contrary; the show has all of the elements of a good behind-the-scenes sports docuseries along the lines of HBO's Hard Knocks. It has established its characters and storyline, and endeavors to profile a team that's out to prove something that season, even if they are the IPL's equivalent of the New England Patriots." The website concluded by recommending that readers stream the series.[10]
References
edit- ^ Desk, TV News. "Netflix Releases CRICKET FEVER: MUMBAI INDIANS". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
{{cite web}}:|last1=has generic name (help) - ^ a b "Indian cricket fever to get on Netflix in March". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ Bloom, David. "Conde' Nast Takes A Swing At Cricket With Netflix Series". Forbes. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ @NetflixIndia (4 February 2019). "Sleepless nights? Nervous nail biting? Screaming at your screen?If you've experienced any or all of these symptoms you might have Cricket Fever, premieres 1st March". Twitter. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Cricket Fever review: Despite a flaw or two, Netflix docu-series on Mumbai Indians has enough novelty to keep you invested". FirstCricket. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ Prabhu, Vinayak M. (5 March 2019). "Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians — A Longform Review". Medium. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Cricket Fever review: Netflix gains unprecedented inside access into the IPL". Hindustan Times. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Cricket Fever Mumbai Indians review: From the home ground". The Indian Express. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians Review - This Netflix Docu-Series Has No Dearth Of Delights And Surprises". NDTV.com. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Stream It Or Skip It: 'Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians' On Netflix, A 'Hard Knocks'-Style Docuseries About The Indian Premier League". Decider. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
