"Defying Gravity: The Untold Story of Women's Gymnastics," our new YouTube Originals six-part documentary series, premiered today on Glamour's YouTube channel. Anyone can watch the first two episodes (with ads), and the first four episodes are available for Premium subscribers. Episodes 3 through 6 will launch in front of the paywall every Monday beginning next week. The series is also available to watch on TV streaming devices via the YouTube app. Five All produced the project alongside Main Event Media/All3Media.
The series explores what it takes to be an Elite gymnast, told through the voices of its greatest champions. Each episode of “Defying Gravity” covers the events and milestones, hopefuls and icons, and heartbreaks and triumphs of the sport, and raises questions on the most challenging and thrilling aspects of gymnastics. How do athletes preserve their passion, confidence, and voice in a sport that pushes them beyond their limits? How do gymnasts maintain their mental toughness and laser focus while contending with all the external pressures placed upon them? And in an era of difficulty-dominant scoring, how do athletes stay unafraid of their own power?
"Defying Gravity" also shows how gymnasts overcome body image issues, ageism, and abuse, and are now using their voices and the life skills that gymnastics taught them to reclaim their beloved sport.
In her review for TV Guide, critic Kaitlin Thomas says, "it's refreshing to see that YouTube Originals [is] finally putting gymnastics in the spotlight." But "this isn't just a shining documentary of athletic prowess," Thomas writes. "The docuseries uses first-hand accounts to dig into the widespread culture of fear and abuse that has permeated the sport for decades as it was considered successful because it produced champions. ... [Defying Gravity] offers a detailed and unvarnished history of the sport that reveals the inner resilience and training it takes to not only compete, but also excel in a sport that for so long has demanded perfection but has rarely received attention for doing the impossible."
Watch the Trailer now!
