Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville, Kentucky was once a proud finishing school for young wrestlers who hoped for a chance at a career in big time Pro Wrestling but times have changed. With new owners in the picture, once-famous pro wrestler Al Snow has been given the summer to turn OVW’s dire financial situation around. Wrestlers tells the story of a handful of eccentric misfits who attempt to come together to help Al save this historic gym while achieving their own wild dreams of wrestling professionally.
OFFICIAL TRAILER DEBUT
WRESTLERS
Series Premiere Date: September 13
Format: 7×60 mins episodes
From Emmy-Award winning director Greg Whiteley (Cheer, Last Chance U)
A BBC Studios Los Angeles Production.
Ohio Valley Wrestling of Louisville, Kentucky is a regional wrestling gym whose alumni include Brock Lesnar, The Miz, John Cena, Dave Bautista and Randy Orton. Once a proud finishing school for aspiring pro wrestlers, the gym has since hit hard times. Acclaimed wrestler Al Snow clings to an old school wrestling philosophy with a heavy emphasis on storytelling, but in spite of the love of a few diehard fans, the gym struggles week to week to stay relevant enough to keep its doors open. Things have become so dire financially that Al has to sell a majority stake to a group of local businessmen including Matt Jones, the most popular radio personality in the state of Kentucky. Matt and the new ownership group have infused the struggling gym with much-needed cash but it still operates at a staggering loss. The new owners have given Al the summer to turn things around. Wrestlers chronicles the efforts Al and his band of aspiring wrestlers make as they struggle with their personal ambitions and each other while they attempt to come together to save this historic gym.
Wrestlers is a BBC Studios Los Angeles Production.The series is directed by Greg Whiteley, who is also an executive producer. Ryan O’Dowd is the executive producer for BBC Studios.
Quote from GREG WHITELEY, Director and Executive Producer:
Before filming Wrestlers, our cinematographer had recently invested in a set of vintage Minolta Prime lenses from the early ’80s. We loved their cinematic look and figured the aesthetics of the Minolta would be appropriate for the garish acts inside the ring. But moving to these lenses made the job of our camera operators much more difficult. If they wanted a close-up, they had to physically approach the subject. Our fear was that the wrestlers might begin to edit themselves in more sensitive moments – but that’s not what happened. Ironically, filming this group of fake wrestlers is perhaps the most uncompromisingly real thing we’ve ever filmed. It was as if this little gym tucked away in Kentucky and the vintage Minolta lenses were trapped in the same era – working together to not be forgotten.
Quote from Valerie Bruce, General Manager, BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions and Ryan O’Dowd, Executive Vice President, Entertainment & Music, BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions + Executive Producer for Wrestlers:
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Netflix to premiere our second docuseries together from our Los Angeles production arm, following up on our true crime break-out hit Murder Among the Mormons. Wrestlers represents a bold, powerful and immersive new addition to our growing unscripted business. This series would not have been possible without the incredible support we received from the city of Louisville, where wrestling is a prized local tradition and the home of Ohio Valley Wrestling for the past three decades.”
Source
Netflix, Inc.
