Simone Biles to star in Facebook Watch docuseries “Simone vs. Herself”
The series will premiere on the platform this summer.
Simone Biles will give fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her life in her upcoming docuseries, “Simone vs. Herself.” The four-time Olympic gold medalist is the latest athlete to be featured in the Religion of Sports-helmed series, which previously starred Tom Brady and Steph Curry.
“I don’t think people get the intensity of how I train and what my life looks like,” Biles told USA TODAY Sports about the series. “I think there is a sense of normalcy they’ll get to see, but they’ll also see the rigorous training. We’re training 34, 35 hours a week to compete for 3 ½ to five minutes.”
Religion of Sports co-founder Gotham Chopra said featuring Biles was an easy choice due to her historic accomplishments, including having won the most gold medals — and medals in general — ever at the world championships. Speaking with USA, Chopra said he was also fascinated with Biles’ personal story of overcoming obstacles.
The 23-year-old previously came forward as a sexual abuse survivor who, along with over 350 other girls and women, was abused by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. Biles has also spoken openly about her childhood, struggles with depression and more.
“As a filmmaker and storyteller… you need a compelling character,” Chopra told the outlet. “The sports of it all is cinematic and amazing and beautiful and fun. But the complexity comes in [with] who is this person and she’s got an endless amount of that.”
“The level of candor with which she talks through those things and talks through the massive challenges and struggles and ongoing struggles… when you put her ongoing success in the context of that… I don’t know who you [can] compare her to,” he continued. “She’s sort of in an arena all by herself.”
Biles added that she hopes the series and speaking openly about her struggles will be empowering for young girls.
“Getting to talk about different topics and really open up and share those details was harder because I didn’t do that outside of therapy. It’s hard, but it’s gotten easier along the way,” she said. “I’m a normal human being. I live in this world just like you guys. My days just look a little bit different. But I think people forget that elite athletes… we have feelings and still have emotions. We still have to get our [stuff] together on a daily basis.”
The series began filming in the fall of 2019 and will premiere on Facebook Watch this summer.