Our take
After being released on BBC in July 2023, Champion made it across the Atlantic and has been recently released globally through Netflix. The family rivalry might be something familiar, but the way they go about it sounds so different, pulling in various genres from Black British music, compiling a striking soundscape that hasn’t been heard from similar shows. Along with the lovely soundtrack, the show has familiar story beats, but it’s well paced, excellently written, and maintains its slick rhythm without compromising any of its tunes. Champion might have dropped on Netflix without much noise, but the show has a voice and a story worth watching.
What it won
Oscars
1 win · 5 noms
Venice
1 nom
Golden Globes
2 noms
DGA
1 nom
WGA
1 nom
The story
Sibling rivalry never sounded so epic. Candice Carty-Williams's electrifying drama of family and fame, with an original soundtrack from the biggest names in black British music.
Hoping to make a comeback after his arrest, Bosco Champion has everything he needs to succeed in the British music scene: fame, the songs, and the management, all thanks to the support of his sister Vita. However, the family threatens to fall apart when Vita gains the opportunity to record her own tracks, and become her brother’s main rival.
Champion is a love letter to Black British music, so naturally the show would want to showcase the best of the best in the scene. Champion does deliver, but what’s striking is how well the show showcases the wide range of genres from the scene. Of course, the first track immediately hooks us in with Malcolm Kamulete as Bosco spitting out rhymes in rap track Champion to the World, but there’s also his clashes with other MCs and the reggae from Beres’ genre dedicated station. But it’s Ray BLK’s R&B track My Girl that steals the show in such a magical moment, and with the ethereal voice of Déja Bowens, it’s the perfect track that matches Vita’s progression in the show, both music and storywise.
PLEASE release the soundtrack soon!
The details
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
