It didn’t take long to hear that signature guffaw of Micah Richards, or the Alan Shearer put-down at Gary Lineker’s expense, that have become part of the furniture for the Rest is Football.
Sat in the kitchen of a swanky New York City apartment looking out on to the bustling Times Square, the trio already feel right at home Stateside.
‘You’re not f***ing relevant,’ Shearer joked to Lineker. ‘You’re off the BBC and on Netflix with us.’
To which Lineker quipped: ‘I would say that is a step in the right direction and the pair of you can f*** off.’
Because that’s the thing. Lineker is relevant. In an era where people are moving away from traditional TV channels and across to streaming services, is a show like this not more relevant than ever?
Gary Lineker’s ‘The Rest is Football’ debuted on Netflix on Wednesday morning in New York
While Lineker is no longer fronting the BBC’s World Cup coverage, he is at least on the ground in the US. Not having to juggle multiple commitments, setting the agenda on social, political, and footballing issues, and has a media juggernaut backing him to do it.
As the traditional broadcasting powerhouses scale operations back, Lineker and his production company Goalhanger – named Britain’s fastest-growing company just this week – are pushing the boundaries as Netflix flex their financial muscle.
Here is a show that looks and feels like a breakfast chat show – think This Morning, or Saturday Kitchen. A show that will give Lineker and Co the chance – should they take it – to shape the daily narrative around this World Cup without being part of the ‘traditional’ media.
A tour of this multi-million apartment for a £14million, 40-episode stint – that Netflix are said to have ‘begged’ to obtain the rights for – showed off resplendent views across Times Square, a swanky bar area, a plush orange sofa, a dart board that Richards wasted no time in having first go on – he hit 15 with his one dart – and table football. No expense has been spared as Netflix enter the UK football podcast space.
And so the podcast wars are officially underway and few, you would imagine, will have been as dialled in to this first Rest is Football episode than their rivals over at Gary Neville’s ‘Stick To Football‘ and Piers Morgan’s ‘World Cup Uncensored‘.
But what those two don’t have that the Rest is Football does is prime real estate, on and off screen.
Forty consecutive shows, airing at 6am each morning in the UK on Netflix – which boasts more than 325 million paid subscribers globally, and approximately 18 million of those are in the UK – with reporters embedded in the camps of the high profile teams, the Rest is Football wants to dominate.
Netflix – who actually have no editorial control over the show and very much give the impression they are just happy to be involved – are promising a ‘daily fix of banter, analysis and hot takes’.
This opening episode had a decent return on the first two but may take a while to warm up to the hot takes that we saw back at Euro 2024, when Lineker openly described England’s performance against Denmark as ‘s***’, which drew a roll of the eyes from Harry Kane.
There was a brief discussion about the situation involving Somalian referee Omar Artan, who was sent home by border officials after landing at Miami Airport. There was also pushback against FIFA president Gianni Infantino, too, a subject where Lineker looked far more comfortable discussing than Shearer, before matters quickly returned to football.
The impressive set inside the multi-million apartment gave the feel of a morning chat show
Netflix have pumped £14million into securing 40 episodes of The Rest is Football in New York
There were jokes about Richards indulging in the New York nightlife, including a clip of him singing karaoke out of the back of a tuk-tuk. There was talk of a tequila bar in Mexico City and a cowboy bar close to the England base in Miami.
For now, with the hot takes seemingly on ice, this was a family-friendly – bar the BBC remark – offering that kept things light – while focusing on the trio’s England XIs, the debate around Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers for the No 10 role, as well as discussions over Cristiano Ronaldo, Lamine Yamal, and Kylian Mbappe, the protagonists of this tournament.
It was a solid start for a show that is set to feature Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Harry Maguire and Patrick Vieira among its stable of ex-player special guests over the coming weeks.
That’s not to say it wasn’t an opening episode without any hitches. The quality of the picture for a chat with the show’s England reporter, Rob Jones, in Miami was not of Netflix standard and the blurry scenes only cleared moments before the chat was due to finish. There was also some confusion when Richards attempted to speak directly down a camera, pleading with Kane to break Lineker’s tournament goals record.
Stick to Football, who will also set themselves up in New York as their stars work around their punditry duties, will only be available on YouTube and is set to run for just 12 episodes.
World Cup Uncensored may well produce the most extreme soundbites through Piers Morgan, John Terry and Simon Jordan but is ultimately a lower budget, digital offering. It will be tough for either to compete.
It is Lineker and Co with the prime real estate on Netflix, and the prime real estate of a daily morning slot that suits a tournament whereby 40 per cent of matches will kick off after midnight in the UK. Capturing the breakfast battleground would prove a major coup.
There were issues with the quality of the video link with England camp reporter, Rob Jones
It will also be interesting to see how the show fares when star of the show Micah Richards is back in the UK working as a pundit for the BBC in Salford
This is a big investment from Netflix and the slick set and production speaks to a no-expense-spared operation that will have everyone in the media, at least, glued to. The pressure is on for the Rest is Football to deliver.
‘The Rest is Football on Netflix is fascinating,’ Alex Kay-Jelski, the BBC’s director of sport, said ahead of the tournament.
‘If a show like that can do well on a big streaming platform then it will be a significant development.’
Two things are for certain: Lineker is very much relevant and a star of the World Cup and the rest (of football) are watching. Let the podcast wars begin…
