Peyton Manning Struggles To Find QBs For Netflix Show, Which Is Kinda Crucial To Success Of 'Quarterback'
Peyton Manning's production company, Omaha Productions, debuted season one of "Quarterback" on Netflix in July. The show was a smashing success, as over 3 million people watched the series in its first week alone. With that success came a renewal for a second season.
But there's a problem: no one wants to participate.
Manning convinced Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota to appear in the first season of the docu-series. Based on how this year's recruitment is going so far, that's practically a miracle. Obviously, Mahomes is the star. But it doesn't appear as though season two is going to have nearly the same star power.
Reports emerged since the renewal announcement about all the players turning down the show.
Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, and Justin Fields all publicly said they declined to participate. So, too, did Geno Smith. And Sam Howell. And Ryan Tannehill.
Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields and Jalen Hurts all publicly said they declined to participate in season two of the Netflix docu-series "Quarterback." (Photos: Getty Images)
For what it's worth, former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason says current Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is going to be on season two. However, Burrow previously said he is not interested.
Peyton Manning really struggling to convince players to participate in season two of "Quarterback" on Netflix
According to Peyton Manning, he just can't seem to find guys willing to participate in season two of "Quarterback" on Netflix. And he says that they're running low on time because they need to start filming. The NFL season kicks off Thursday.
"To use a cheesy analogy, we’re definitely in the two-minute drill here,” Manning told The Hollywood Reporter. "I’d love for someone to call us back and say, ‘I want to do it.’ I had three starting quarterbacks tell me no yesterday, so I’m swallowing my pride."
Manning is doing his best to convince players, but cannot find success.
"I think maybe some guys are thinking that it is going to be a distraction, even though I told a couple of them, ‘I guarantee you’ll win the Super Bowl like Mahomes if you do it.'"
That's funny and speaks to Manning's personality. But the distraction piece is something that many players have cited as the main issue. Although, Manning says that's not the case.
“I don’t want to hear ‘It’s going to be a distraction’ because that’s not true,” Manning told Pat McAfee over the summer.
Peyton Manning really struggling to convince players to participate in season two of "Quarterback" on Netflix. (Photo by Kiyoshi Mio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl with Manning's crew around, so it's not hard for the Hall of Famer to pitch the "not a distraction" piece. Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings won 13 games and the NFC North, though they did suffer an upset in the playoffs at the hands of the New York Giants.
Marcus Mariota eventually got benched, but that had more to do with him not being very good than a few TV cameras.
What's the backup plan? Is it an actual ... backup plan?
The question, though, is what does Manning, "Quarterback" and Netflix do if they can't find any subjects? Netflix certainly doesn't want to bail on a show with this kind of success.
Manning mentioned that "three starting quarterbacks" turned him down. Does that mean he's considering backup quarterbacks? At some point, he almost has to.
It might actually be interesting to go inside the life of a backup NFL quarterback. But not three of them. They'd have to change the name to "Backup Quarterback." Doesn't have quite the same ring, does it?
Hopefully, Manning can get it done. The series is great and I want to see a season two.
Although, not if it's going to feature practice squad players.
Sorry, guys, I want stars just like everyone else.