Nazare Challenge Photo: WSL
In recent years it seems as if HBO has taken an exceptional interest in surfing. Kelly Slater is no stranger to storytelling programs like Real Sports, and the network’s 2018 Momentum Generation was one surfing’s most high profile documentaries in recent memory. HBO’s newest foray into surf-centered storytelling will have nothing to do with Slater, though, instead diving into a decade-long look at wave riding’s largest feat: the 100-foot wave.
HBO announced a new docu-series named after that mythic benchmark this week. 100 Foot Wave will be a six-part release revolving heavily around Garrett McNamara’s introduction to Nazaré and how that relationship has directed the path of big wave surfing for the past decade.
“The series captures the common spirit and fearless passion shared by McNamara and big-wave surfers from across the world as they push themselves through life-altering injuries and tantalizing near-misses in their collective pursuit of the inconceivable,” HBO wrote. “Spanning four continents, 100 FOOT WAVE is an inspirational story of a group of people on a quest to achieve new heights, and a town and a sport that were forever changed by one seemingly impossible dream.”
As interesting as the subjects of the film are, though, the people behind its creation add some definite intrigue. The docu-series is directed by Chris Smith, who also directed FYRE: The Greatest Party that Never Happened, the 2019 documentary about the infamous fraud and disaster known as FYRE Festival. And Smith also served as Executive Producer of Tiger King, possibly the most heavily binged cultural phenomenon in streaming television in 2020.
