Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Solid soccer doc features 2018 FIFA World Cup bound-players.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 11+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Phenoms
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
PHENOMS is a documentary series that profiles 16 top-level European football (aka soccer) players from leagues around the world. Footballers like Real Madrid's midfield attacker Marco Asensio; Marquinos, Paris Saint-Germain's central defender; and FC Spartak Moscow goalie Aleksandr Selikhov are gearing up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The young players have made a name for themselves in their native countries, and some have succeeded at playing for football clubs abroad. Others are hoping to be recruited in order to have the opportunity to play world-standard matches. Family members, coaches, and others also offer their insights about their upbringing, their talents, and pivotal moments in their lives and careers thus far. Whether it be to fulfill a family legacy or to earn enough money to support their families at home, every player is working hard and making sacrifices to reach the top of the sport they love so much.
Is It Any Good?
This documentary series offers an interesting look at the lives of some of European football's most promising young players. From daily practices and national-level matches to representing their homelands at the Olympics and the World Cup, it offers sports fans the chance to get to know more about each of the profiled players. Players also offer some of their insights about what the sport means to them and the challenges they must overcome to play it.
Soccer fans will enjoy what is featured here, which ranges from interviews with players to video footage of past matches. The interactions between the players and young fans are also fun to watch. But not every personal narrative featured here is about success. Nonetheless, Phenoms successfully highlights the passion each of these players has for the sport and the talent they have to play it.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the sacrifices footballers make in order to play in world-standard matches. What makes leaving their homes and families to play for football clubs in other countries worth it?
Why were the players featured on Phenoms chosen to be profiled? What makes them stand out from other footballers? Is there a player that you think should have been featured?
Why isn't soccer more popular in the United States? How do sports become popular in certain countries and not in others?
TV Details
- Premiere date: May 25, 2018
- Network: Fox
- Genre: Reality TV
- Character Strengths: Perseverance , Teamwork
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: October 13, 2022
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