How much is too much of a good thing? Streaming sites and TV networks churn out documentary series like a Cadbury factory cranks out chocolate bars. It’s hard to keep up.
It’s easy to see why. People are nosy. We all love seeing insight into the lives of our favourite celebrities. And don’t try and say you don’t, you’d be lying.
Amazon Prime did this adeptly in season one of Married To The Game. The first instalment of the show takes a look into the lives of professional footballers’ wives and girlfriends – better known as WAGs, although we all know they hate that term. After all, they do show they are not just trophy wives.
However, less is more. A one-off docu-series is often enough to show you what you need to know, and that is certainly the case here.
It’s time to put the camera down if you resort to 35-second montages of a dog having a bath in a spa in a series about the trials and tribulations of being the partner of a footballer.
Don’t get me wrong, Bebezao, or ‘Big baby’ in English, looks like he’s having an absolutely cracking time while being pampered at the doggie lavish lounge. But it’s such an unnecessary scene which encapsulates the needlessness for this season.
Amazon Prime’s docu-series, Married To The Game, has been renewed for a second season
Three new couples have been added to the cast including Arsenal defender Gabriel and his partner Gabrielle
Taylor Ward and Riyad Mahrez return to the series as they showcase their life in Saudi Arabia
Now, that may sound harsh. There are some fleeting moments of authenticity where you can connect with the so-called ‘WAGs’ involved. It has relatable moments, but they are few and far between.
Familiar faces Taylor Ward, wife of former Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez, and Cat Harding, the now fiancée of Arsenal midfielder Jorginho, return, but there are three new stars.
Gabrielle Figueiredo, wife of Arsenal star Gabriel, Stephanie Hope, partner of Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey and Claudia Rodriguez, partner of Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella, lower the curtain to their way of life, one that is unfathomable to many.
It’s not a show hugely packed with storylines, but one that stands out clearly over the rest is the life of Claudia and Cucurella. The Spaniard was in the thick of the perfect summer with his national side. Well, it looked perfect to an outsider, but that was certainly not the case.
Cucurella and Rodriguez come as a package deal, they are a team. Their chemistry and commitment to tackling challenges together – such as their eldest child Mateo’s autism – is both admirable and moving. Cucurella crying into the arms of Rodriguez – as seen in the trailer – while heart-breaking brings an endearing authenticity to their relationship.
A moment that rings true is when the Chelsea man is on holiday after securing European Championship glory. While helping Mateo and his other children he says: ‘This is my real job and the other one is just for fun’. Football is just a game at the end of the day.
You will come out of the show finding the couple extremely likeable. Their highs and lows are laid bare all of us to see. None of this pumped up PR nonsense, this is real, this is the life they live. All the money, cars, and holidays still don’t make the Cucurella’s family life easy.
That being said, much of it looks like a right hoot for many of the others involved. There are parties, £7million house purchases, and even a luxury hen do in Marbella. Doesn’t exactly sound bad, does it?
Chelsea star Marc Cucurella and his girlfriend Claudia Rodriguez are new to the series
The couple opened up on the challenges they have faced in raising their autistic child Mateo
The season shows the couples commitment to tackling challenges together away from football
The series also shows the lead-up to Taylor and Riyad’s third, but final, wedding in Lake Como
By the end of episode three, I would have happily turned the screen off and be content with what I have watched. I’d seen all I needed to.
The problem is we don’t really get to know the real wives and girlfriends, except Claudia and occasionally Taylor. The fascination of this world that gripped me in season one, was lost midway through season two. That’s the plain and simple fact.
The women involved are all lovely and there are times when Married To The Game tackles important subjects such as body image, the heartache of losing a loved one, the reality of motherhood without an ever-present father, and putting family first. As Ward eloquently puts it while coping with the sickness of a loved one: ‘family over everything’.
However, too much of the show is occupied with space-filling scenes. The key moments could have comfortably been squeezed into three episodes, maybe even two.
It’s one of those shows that you can stick on in the background while also scrolling through social media.
This just may not be my cup of tea, and you may lap it up. But take it from a man who was made to watch the Kardashians with his girlfriend and ended up hooked – guilty as charged – Married To The Game is an easy watch, but hardly an engaging show.
Sometimes one and done is the way to go.
Married To The Game is available exclusively on Prime Video.
