Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall's "fantastic" British drama is now trending on Netflix

The Damned United, the acclaimed sports drama boasting a stacked cast including Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall, is now trending on Netflix after being added to the streamer over the weekend.

The '70-set film is based on David Peace's 2006 novel of the same name, with the drama following football manager Brian Clough (Sheen) as he comes under pressure after taking over Leeds United.

After being added to Netflix in the UK on Sunday (20 September), the drama has gone down well with viewers over the last few days, as it currently sits at #7 on the streamer's UK film chart (via FlixPatrol).

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In addition to Sheen and Spall, the latter of whom plays assistant coach Peter Taylor, the stellar cast for the film includes Colm Meaney, Jim Broadbent, Martin Compston, Stephen Graham and Ralph Ineson.

Directed by Tom Hooper from a screenplay by Peter Morgan, The Damned United was acclaimed upon its theatrical release in 2009, with Rotten Tomatoes currently reporting an impressive approval rating of 92% from 138 reviews.

It was also liked by viewers, with it currently having a rating of 7.5/10 on IMDb from 49,000 logs. In one 8/10 review, one user wrote: "[It's] a fantastic film with brilliant performances by Sheen and Spall."

Another viewer was also full of praise for Sheen, writing: "Sheen turns in, yet another brilliant performance as the arrogant, stubborn, distant, bitter, intelligent yet highly flawed man who went on to become a legend of British football."

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This sentiment was echoed by another enthusiastic viewer, who opined: "The Damned United is a really enjoyable piece of entertainment full of great actors bringing to life intriguing characters."

While the drama is one of Sheen's most beloved projects, the actor has plenty of other work on the way. He will soon appear in the second season of The Celebrity Traitors, and will also be seen in Welsh sci-fi film Out There.

The Damned United is streaming now on Netflix.

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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.