I just finished watching the English Game and absolutely loved it. I'm an American and I don't have mucH interest in the game of soccer (to football as the rest of the world calls it). But that didn't stop me from loving the hell out of this miniseries. For those who may stumble across this review months or treats from now, let me set the scene. Coronavirus has ravaged families and economies. Everyday there seems to be some new depressing thing that comes to light (political division in the US, Brexit, Australia burning... take your pick). Media tends to mimic what is going on in the world, if not in plot, but in mood. In other words, there's some pretty depressing stuff on tv. A lot of it is very high quality (e.g. Chernobyl, The Plot Against America, Westworld, etc), but it can be hard to watch when real life is such a mess. Then comes along this gem of a show. It's very optimistic. I suppose you could say it's a typical sports story (there's adversity and adversity is ultimately overcome). But so what? Right now I'll take a show about growing as a person, seeing things from a different perspective, and demonstrating good sportsmanship (aka showing respect to others). Don't get me wrong... I love shows that are heavier on action, violence, sex, etc. But I can also appreciate some positivity. And this show has positivity in spades. I can't recommend the show enough. If you like soccer, maybe you'll like this show. If you don't... you'll probably like it too. It's good. Give it a watch.
