Rafael Nadal Docuseries ‘Rafa’: How a Local Setting, Language and Intimate Lensing Set the Primetime Emmy Contender Apart

‘Rafa’ director Zach Heinzerling and Netflix Spain VP Content Diego Ávalos drill down on the first non-English language docuseries nominated for a Primetime Emmy and its memorable Mallorca family setting

By John Hopewell

John Hopewell

Chief International Correspondent

Latest

• Rafael Nadal Docuseries ‘Rafa’: How a Local Setting, Language and Intimate Lensing Set the Primetime Emmy Contender Apart 38 minutes ago
• San Sebastián Sets Fatih Akin’s ‘Ghost Song’ as Opening Night Film   6 hours ago
• Locarno Takeaways: A Charming Olivia Wilde, Navigating an Industry Crunch and One Reason Why There Should Be More Women Filmmakers 5 days ago

Produced by Skydance Sports and Netflix Sports, “Rafa,” a four-part portrait of Spain’s greatest sports icon Rafael Nadal, packs several singular punches. 

It’s the first time a non-English language docuseries has ever nominated for a Primetime Emmy, Netflix notes. Also, it takes up Nadal’s story in a largely present tense of early 2024 where he’s not No. 1 in the world, but No. 652, almost 38, nearly a year and a half out without winning a title and plagued by a chronic hip injury. This may be about a last dance. It is certainly about a global icon battling sports players’ biggest challenge: The passage of time. 

Related Stories

'Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story' Trailer: Ella Beatty Is an Axe Murderer in the Fourth Chapter of Ryan Murphy's Bloody Anthology Series