The story of a small-town hockey team reeling after several of its teenage players are killed in a bus crash would probably seem familiar to Canadians, but Netflix says its new series has nothing to do with the Humboldt Broncos.
Sixteen people were killed and 13 were injured when a truck driver went through a stop sign and into the path of the junior hockey team’s bus at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Sask., in 2018.
The truck driver, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, was sentenced to eight years in prison for dangerous driving offences. Last week, Sidhu, who had permanent resident status, was ordered to be deported to India.
The new eight-part Netflix series takes place in the small working-class town of South Dorothy, Minn., where hockey is everything and the high school hockey team has been churning out state championships.
A news release from the streaming giant says when a bus crash claims the lives of several players and the coach himself, the town looks to his widow to coach a new team of “battered and broken young men.”
“I can confirm that the show is fictional and not inspired by any real-life event,” said a Netflix official in an email.
There is no release date or a name for the series yet, she said.
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Some of the Humboldt families are angry and say it hits too close to home.
“It does seem to sensationalize our own tragedy, but in a truly Hollywood fashion, they’re making it about them — their heartbreak, their loss, their rebuild,” said Michelle Straschnitzki, whose son Ryan was paralyzed from the chest down in the crash.
“They’re just out to make some money and make it their story, which is garbage.”
She said she isn’t buying Netflix’s claim that the story is fictional.
“If you have been alive in the last eight years and you haven’t heard what happened on the grand scale that it was, across the world, then you’ve had your head in the sand,” Straschnitzki said.
“I’m not saying people only have to care about what happened in Humboldt, but they have to realize this is not their story to tell.”
The Humboldt families weren’t consulted about the series or weren’t told that it was going to happen.
Tom Straschnitzki, Ryan’s dad, said Netflix should have reached out to all the families.
“They’re taking advantage of our grief because the creator even said it was his idea and he was so proud of it,” he said.
“It’s not a Netflix original. It looked like typical Hollyweird there — they changed it around and made in the States, and are taking full credit for it.”
He said he has no intention of watching the new series.
“Not at all. I kind of relive it every day.”
In the Netflix release, writer and producer Nick Naveda said making the series “is nothing short of a dream come true.”
Tyler Cameron’s son Graysen suffered a broken back in the Humboldt crash but has recovered. He was surprised the series is being made.
“It is hurtful. It brings back a lot of things. I was a little bit triggered,” Cameron said.
“You’d think if they wanted to tell that story, they would have told our story and maybe ask us first.”
The upcoming series stars actress Michelle Monaghan.
The series is from Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps production company, which has hits such as “Stranger Things,” “All the Light We Cannot See,” “The Perfect Couple” and “The Adam Project.”
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