“Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing” answers plenty of questions you had following the Olympic ice dancing competition. It won’t change your opinion about the outcome, but it will provide insight into the skill — and confidence — it takes to play the game.
Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates look like the team most likely, but director Katie Walsh extends the focus to include Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, another couple who has spent decades trying to nail the elusive gold.
Just when you think it’s down to the veterans, France introduces its new team — Guillaume Cizeron (the last gold medalist) and his new partner, Laurence Fournier Beaudry. Both of the “newbies” had different partners and teamed up when those relationships fizzled.
From left to right, silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States, gold medalists Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France, and bronze medalists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada, pose with their medals after the ice dancing free skate in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Feb. 11.
A wild card? For sure. Because judges didn’t have years of performances to handicap the newcomers, they could be real threats.
People are also reading…
The three-part documentary follows the ice dancers for the better part of a year, showing how they assemble a program, smooth the rough spots and play the game.
As Olympic season gets closer, experts like Tara Lipinski and Adam Rippon offer insight. Madison Hubbell, a past bronze medalist, is the most open, detailing all the skaters’ weaknesses.
Cizeron is clearly the best male dancer (he practically wills his new team to success), and Chock casts a large shadow. But Gilles has a touching story that will bring the tears, and Beaudry doesn’t open up about the partner accused of conduct unbecoming a skating star.
“Glitter & Gold” shows the teams at home, in hotel bathrooms and on rehearsal ice. Poirier plasters his hair so it doesn’t move; Chock wrestles with a skirt that probably annoyed viewers who saw it at the Olympic finals.
Walsh often splits the screen, showing couples competing. What you discover is just how close the competition is.
From left to right, silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States, gold medalists Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France, and bronze medalists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada, take a selfie after receiving their medals after the ice dancing free skate in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Feb. 11.
Yes, the French skaters seem like the most inexperienced. But they had plenty of time on ice, just not with each other.
Rippon calls the competition “live-action soap opera,” and he’s right. While Chock and Bates are careful not to say much, you can see the icy stares she gives him when he tries to offer an opinion.
Ditto: Beaudry. She defers to Cizeron and provides the passion he’s seeking.
The second installment of the three-part documentary shows how frequently ice dancers play musical partners. All of the top contenders were part of other teams.
Interestingly, Chock and Bates put away costumes from the last Olympics (one they didn’t win) and hadn’t looked at them until Walsh and company came calling.
While none of the three admits the 2026 Games are the last, it’s suggested. And that’s what makes the competition so heartbreaking, no matter who you happened to cheer.
“Glitter & Gold’s” insight is something NBC’s coverage needed. Sure, it’s impossible to do something this detailed on all sports, but it is a template for what Olympic coverage could be.
“Glitter & Curling”? We’d love to see it.
“Glitter & Gold” airs on Netflix.
Photos show athletes as a blur of motion at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics
From left to right, Roberts Kruzbergs of Latvia, Brandon Kim of the United States, Sun Long of China and Michal Niewinski of Poland compete in the men's 1000 meter short track speed skating heats at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Canada's Cameron Alexander speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Finland's Elian Lehto speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Athletes from Sweden participate in a biathlon training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita of Japan compete during the figure skating ice dance team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Sweden's Thea Johansson, left, challenges France's Clara Rozier during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between France and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Domen Prevc, of Slovenia, goes down the ramp during a ski jumping, men's normal hill, training session, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Predazzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Italy's Marilu Poluzzi competes during the women's snowboard big air qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
United States' Korey Dropkin delivers a stone against Italy during a curling mixed doubles session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Poland's Nikola Domowicz and Dominika Piwkowska, right, slide down the track during a women's doubles luge training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Brittany Bowe of the U.S. practice ahead of the women's 1,500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Giovanni Bresadola, of Italy, soars through the air during the ski jumping mixed team competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Predazzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
