The Fourth of July may be weeks behind us, but the rhythmic group chants of “USA!” are just getting started, because the Summer Olympics are finally here. Friday brings this year’s opening ceremony in Paris, after which two weeks of contests of strength, grace, speed, and teamwork will follow. 

The best way to carry the torch (as a non-Olympian, from the comfort of your own home) is, of course, to fire up an Olympic-sized weekend stream. Flip for the story of a sports world scandal, race through some biopics dramatizing the lives of famous competitors, or dive into a collection of inspiring documentaries about Olympians past and present. Whatever your event, now’s the time to set a new personal best.

But first, what’s new on Netflix?

A melodious long con. The music manager and fraudster Lou Pearlman, who assembled and launched the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, among other Y2K-era groups, is the subject of the new docuseries Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam, which breaks down his pop Ponzi scheme. Don’t want it that way? Soak up the decadence of The Decameron, a soapy new 14th-century black comedy series from creator Kathleen Jordan, loosely inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s story collection of the same name. Not your cup of wine? Get ready for an Elite graduation: The eighth and final season of Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona’s teen drama is here. 

If you have just a night … 

Fly a little closer to the sun. Documentarian and cyclist Bryan Fogel was investigating the practice of doping in professional sports when he uncovered a scandal much bigger than anything he might have expected. The resulting documentary, 2017’s Oscar-winning Icarus, digs deep into an elaborate, state-sponsored Russian Olympic doping program with testimony from scientist and whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, who oversaw the program before fleeing the country. 

If you have a whole day … 

Get the whole story. While the Olympics themselves offer climactic, high-stakes moments in an athlete’s career, these biopics portray them before Olympic glory. Start with a pair of legends: The 2021 tennis drama King Richard, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, portrays young Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) under the guidance of their father, Richard Williams (Will Smith, in an Oscar-winning performance). Keep things sisterly with The Swimmers, the 2022 film from Sally El Hosaini, about Syrian refugees Yusra Mardini (Nathalie Issa) and Sara Mardini (Manal Issa). They first swam the Aegean Sea to safety before Yusra became a member of the Refugee Olympic Team in 2016 and 2020. Finally, Stephan James plays the groundbreaking, record-shattering track-and-field star Jesse Owens in Stephen Hopkins’ 2016 sports drama Race, which depicts the path to Owens’ historic showing at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. 

If you have the entire weekend … 

Get fired up. There are enough inspiring Olympian-centric documentaries to fill you up on feats of human strength and resilience. (Just please, don’t try them at home.) Start with a story in progress: Part 1 of director Katie Walsh’s docuseries Simone Biles Rising captures the athlete’s journey from dropping out of the 2020 Olympics through her preparations for 2024; Part 2, which will follow Biles at this year’s Games, will drop in the fall. To catch up with another Paris competitor, watch Garrett Bradley’s 2021 limited series Naomi Osaka about the Japanese tennis star. And finally, keep up — if you can — with some of the world’s fastest people in Sprint, the new docuseries that follows seven track-and-field athletes as they chase 2024 glory. 

Get ready for the Paralympic Games, which will kick off in Paris on Aug. 28, with Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s powerful Rising Phoenix, which examines the significance of the event with insight from some of its greatest athletes. And look back on a storied Olympic comeback with Jon Weinbach’s 2022 doc The Redeem Team, which chronicles the US men’s basketball team’s unlikely underdog journey at the 2008 Beijing Games. Finally, close things out with a timely (and timeless) reminder: Mickey Duzyj’s 2019 docuseries Losers recounts eight bitter defeats that talented athletes were able to turn into new beginnings. Because even during the Olympics, winning isn’t everything. 

Don’t forget, you have one last chance … 

To peel back a few layers. Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson’s fractured fairy tale Shrek has spawned three sequels (with a fifth series entry on the way) and two spin-offs — and it all began with the tale of a misanthropic ogre (voiced by Mike Myers) who goes on a quest to rescue a princess (Cameron Diaz) with the help of a very chatty donkey (Eddie Murphy). Watch the 2001 original now, before getting kicked out of the swamp at month’s end.

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