Netflix’s Newly Announced Show Sparks Instant and Intense Backlash

On January 21, 2026, Netflix announced an as-yet-unnamed upcoming series about the residents of a small town who are deeply invested in a local high school hockey team. The show's story will focus on what happens to that town and team after a horrible bus crash claims the lives of the coach and several players. After the series was announced by Netflix, it sparked outrage from many who felt its plot is far too close to a real-life tragedy.

'I’ll Never Be Able To Find Triumph in This Tragedy': Victim’s Family Members React

On April 6, 2018, tragedy struck when a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team's players, coaches, and staff was struck by a transport truck. A CBC News article from that time reported that the crash killed 16 people, most of whom were teens. The event also left survivors with life-changing physical and emotional scars. Years later, news of Netflix's upcoming series with a plot that reminds many observers of that real event has resulted in the fathers of two victims speaking out.

On January 25, 2026, CBC News published an article about the upcoming Netflix show that has sparked a fierce controversy. That article stated that when asked for comment, Netflix told the outlet that the show is fictional and not inspired by any real-life events.

CBC News spoke to Scott Thomas, whose 18-year-old son Evan died due to the Humboldt Broncos crash. While talking about Netflix's newly announced show, which he said he didn't know all the details about, Thomas rejected the notion of turning the tragedy into a fictional uplifting story. “I don't know the whole story, but just from what I can see online, they're trying to make some triumph out of tragedy, which for me … I'll never be able to find triumph in this tragedy."

Thomas later explained that he believed the show was going to try to accomplish something that was the opposite of his reality. “It looks to me like this is going to be some rising from the phoenix, rising from the ashes story. And that's just not my reality. This is a tragedy that I live every day. I mourn the loss of my son every day.”

While speaking to CBC News, Thomas also stated that he won't be able to watch the series and that he felt that Netflix producing a documentary instead would have been better. “If it was a documentary and told the real facts of what happened that day and where everybody is now and the battles we're all still fighting, that's one thing. But to fictionalize it to have a completely inaccurate ending, I don't see how that helps our story at all, or our cause to make this world a better place in the name of our loved ones.” 

The CBC News article also detailed how another father of a Humboldt Broncos player reacted to the announcement of the new Netflix show. Tom Straschnitzki's son Ryan was left seriously injured and paralyzed from the chest down following the crash. When the new show was announced on X, Tom Straschnitzki responded in the comment section with a photo of the real crash and the following words.

"Weird, Very similar to the Humboldt Bronco Hockey JR A team bus crash. I'm sure you contacted all the families or maybe you thought this was a Netflix original. The pic is the actual crash and in case you can't see, the bus is the bottom left. 29 on the bus. 16 died!!!! We live it."

Public Backlash Erupts, With a Call for Netflix to Be Sued

The Humboldt Broncos tragedy prompted an immense outpouring of emotion and grief from people at the time. It even inspired Jersey Day on April 12, 2018, during which saddened observers wore a hockey jersey in public to express their grief and offer support to everyone who was directly impacted by the crash. Given the profound impact of the real events, it isn’t surprising that the perceived similarity of Netflix's show swiftly generated social media outrage

On January 22, 2026, the X user @DenOHay first reacted to the Netflix announcement by questioning if the streaming service had received approval from the families of the Humboldt Broncos victims. "…so you just made a show based on the Humboldt tragedy. Kinda tone deaf, no? Do the families know about this?" Soon after, the same user wrote that they hoped that Netflix would be sued for a fortune due to the upcoming show. "I hope the Humboldt Broncos and the parents of the players and coaches sue this company into oblivion, I’m dead serious."

I hope the Humboldt Broncos and the parents of the players and coaches sue this company into oblivion, I’m dead serious. https://t.co/X3mV6o4910

— Hayden (@DenOHay) January 23, 2026

On Threads, a user who goes by tangledmoon expressed their disgust at Netflix for producing the show. "Dear @netflix : a Canadian national tragedy is not “a random idea, set in Minnesota” fodder. This is disgusting, ESPECIALLY in the current climate. You acquisitive bunch of thieves!" The X user @cowboyn1all also called out Netflix, asking for the series not to be released. "incredibly insensitive to the entire Canadian nation to try and profit off the Humboldt Broncos tragedy. do better netflix and remove this."

These are only three of the many social media responses from people who were outraged by their impression that the Netflix series took inspiration from the tragedy.