The series comes just weeks after Tyson boxed Jake Paul in a live event for the streaming giant.

By Alex Weprin

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December 17, 2024 8:31am

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Mike Tyson Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix © 2024

Just weeks after the bout with Jake Paul shattered streaming viewership records, Netflix says that Mike Tyson will be the subject of an upcoming documentary series.

The series will be made with Tyson’s full cooperation, and will feature mot only his in-ring success, but also his personal struggles, which established him “as one of the most compelling and polarizing figures of our time.”

In a statement of his own, Tyson suggested that despite his cooperation, he intends to take an objective look at his complicated life.

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“Having an opportunity to share my story through the reflective lens of my growth and maturity in a multi-part documentary on Netflix will be a challenging journey, yet a very welcoming one,” said Tyson in a statement. “Most people are too scared to look at their lives objectively, wanting to paint themselves as the hero of their own story.  But if we are truly objective, we know we can never be the hero in our own story.  We have to be able to face the man in the mirror, taking the good with the bad to give a full account of our contributions in this life. Netflix is the perfect platform to tell my story because of their global reach.”

Or as Netflix’s logline says: “From his meteoric rise as the ‘Baddest Man on the Plane’” to his personal struggles –  including a period of incarceration and widely publicized struggles (i.e. finances, substance abuse, in-ring controversies) – and eventual redemption, this series will explore the man behind the gloves.”

The three-part series is being produced by EverWonder Studio, DLP Media Group, Five All In The Fifth, with Floyd Russ serving as director and EP, and Ian Orefice of EverWonder Studio; Jim Gray of Scratchy Productions, Michael Hughes and Greg C. Lake of DLP Media Group, and Douglas Banker of Five All In The Fifth serving as EPs.

Netflix has become the go-to streaming home for sports docuseries, with shows like Drive to Survive, Full Swing, Receiver, Simone Biles Rising, and Enigma: Aaron Rodgers all delivering substantial viewership and driving interest in their respective sports and stars.

The Jake Paul boxing match also drew enormous viewership for Netflix, suggesting that it could become a major player in sports. It also drew criticism that it may have been an unfair fight, given Tyson’s age and health issues. Paul’s Most Valuable promotions, which organized the bout, said in a statement afterward that claims that the fight was rigged were “baseless,” given that the company was looking to do a longer-term deal with Netflix.

EverWonder, which helped produce the fight, is also one of the companies producing the Tyson docuseries.