Netflix's Take That documentary offers an affectionate, middle‑age retelling

Netflix's three-part documentary about Take That traces the band's 35-year story, from early-90s teen hysteria and chart success to behind-the-scenes rivalries and a commercially triumphant reunion, the Guardian review says.

The reviewer describes the film as a straightforward, refreshingly unembittered retelling rather than a revelatory exposé: there are fleeting admissions of anxiety and creaking knees, but little that is genuinely new. Robbie Williams and Jason Orange did not contribute to the series, the piece notes, and it stops short of the kind of raw exposure seen in Williams' own recent Netflix project.

Directed by David “Bros: After the Screaming Stops” Soutar and built around off-screen interviews with the three remaining members, the series is rich in archive material, much of it previously unseen, from awkward early school gigs to candid backstage moments. The reviewer highlights the editing and the breadth of footage as strengths.

Tonally the documentary often feels like a middle-age reckoning—warm, nostalgic and enjoyable rather than investigative. An opening anecdote about a cauliflower cheese spat between Howard Donald and Gary Barlow signals the film's light, anecdotal approach, and the reviewer concludes it is more celebration than revelation.

Key Topics

Culture, Take That, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Robbie Williams