Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Robbie Williams, and Jason Orange navigate pop stardom and boy band pandemonium in the official trailer for Take That. The three-part documentary series premiering Jan. 27 on Netflix follows the group as their musical dreams become nightmare fodder.
At the height of their fame, Take That were told not to bother singing. No one would hear them over the screams of the crowd, anyway. “The more successful we became, the bigger the audience is,” one member says in the clip. “But it was also the beginning of the end for us as a band.” They had become “a money-making machine for a lot of people,” an experience they describe as having been quite lonely.
But they were never actually alone. It became impossible for Take That to walk down the street or maintain any semblance of privacy without being spotted by fans. The fame took a toll on their interpersonal relationships, too. In 1995, Williams departed from the band. Footage in the trailer shows the singer boasting during a television appearance, “I was always the talented member.” A year later, Take That officially disbanded.
After a decade apart, Take That were offered a reunion deal that would put them back on arena stages. “A lot of us were scared,” another moment in the trailer reveals. “I realized we needed Take That and we needed each other.”
Take That compiles 35 years of archival material with previously unreleased footage and new interviews with Barlow, Donald, and Owen. Williams starred in his own Netflix docuseries, Robbie Williams, in 2023.
“This series offers an intimate look at the highs, the heartbreaks, and the enduring legacy of one of the UK’s most successful bands of all time,” a synopsis of Take That reads. “From their early beginnings as five piece formed in Manchester to becoming pop superstars, relive the camaraderie, chaos, and resilience that fueled their meteoric rise, dramatic split, and one of the greatest comebacks in British music history.”
