Greg Whiteley has a new sports docuseries at Netflix that really isn’t new at all. The seven-episode (at 45-minutes apiece) “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders” will premiere this summer on Netflix. The streamer first announced the series on Thursday, when it also put out a teaser (below).
Greg Whiteley… Netflix… cheerleading docuseries… Why does this all sound so familiar? Oh yeah, it’s because Whiteley is the guy behind Netflix’s two-season docuseries “Cheer” (as well as the equally excellent five-season “Last Chance U”).
Fans of “Cheer” have been not-so-patiently waiting for a third season, so… isn’t this just that? Why not call “America’s Sweethearts” what it really is: “Cheer” Season 3. That’s what we want.
There’s plenty of precedent here. While “Cheer” Seasons 1 and 2 focused on competitive collegiate cheerleading (mostly) at Navarro College (also in Texas!), Whiteley’s precursor “Last Chance U” not only changed schools — it changed sports.
Greg Whiteley… Netflix… cheerleading docuseries… Why does this all sound so familiar? Oh yeah, it’s because Whiteley is the guy behind Netflix’s two-season docuseries “Cheer” (as well as the equally excellent five-season “Last Chance U”).
Fans of “Cheer” have been not-so-patiently waiting for a third season, so… isn’t this just that? Why not call “America’s Sweethearts” what it really is: “Cheer” Season 3. That’s what we want.
There’s plenty of precedent here. While “Cheer” Seasons 1 and 2 focused on competitive collegiate cheerleading (mostly) at Navarro College (also in Texas!), Whiteley’s precursor “Last Chance U” not only changed schools — it changed sports.
- 4/18/2024
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
Everyone loves an underdog, but it’s possible nobody loves one more than Greg Whiteley. With Netflix hits “Cheer” and “Last Chance U,” the documentarian trained his eye on undergraduate athletes whose programs lack the resources or respect of a Big Ten institution. Each show made a compelling case for its subjects’ skill, tenacity and right to a bigger spotlight; “Cheer,” in particular, made stars of its protagonists, a charismatic squad of Texas students who performed death-defying stunts with a smile.
The second season of “Cheer” was forced to reckon with the fallout of its own success, taking some focus away from its namesake sport to address squad member Jerry Harris’ being sentenced to prison for soliciting sex from minors, as well as coach Monica Aldama’s stint on “Dancing With the Stars” and the uncomfortable transition from challenger to heavy favorite. Thankfully, Whiteley’s latest effort offers a fresh start.
The second season of “Cheer” was forced to reckon with the fallout of its own success, taking some focus away from its namesake sport to address squad member Jerry Harris’ being sentenced to prison for soliciting sex from minors, as well as coach Monica Aldama’s stint on “Dancing With the Stars” and the uncomfortable transition from challenger to heavy favorite. Thankfully, Whiteley’s latest effort offers a fresh start.
- 9/13/2023
- by Alison Herman
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has set the premiere date for a docuseries about the pro wrestling promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling, Variety has learned exclusively.
Titled “Wrestlers,” the show will debut on Netflix on Sept. 13. The series hails from director and executive producer Greg Whiteley, who previously created the hit docuseries “Cheer” and “Last Chance U” for Netflix.
A trailer and first look images from the series can be seen below.
Ohio Valley Wrestling, or Ovw, is based in Louisville, Ky. It was originally an independent promotion until it became a developmental territory for the WWE. It has since returned to being independent, but not before future stars like Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz, Dave Bautista, and Cm Punk passed through its doors.
The official synopsis states: “Once a proud finishing school for aspiring pro wrestlers, the gym has since hit hard times. Acclaimed wrestler Al Snow clings to an old...
Titled “Wrestlers,” the show will debut on Netflix on Sept. 13. The series hails from director and executive producer Greg Whiteley, who previously created the hit docuseries “Cheer” and “Last Chance U” for Netflix.
A trailer and first look images from the series can be seen below.
Ohio Valley Wrestling, or Ovw, is based in Louisville, Ky. It was originally an independent promotion until it became a developmental territory for the WWE. It has since returned to being independent, but not before future stars like Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz, Dave Bautista, and Cm Punk passed through its doors.
The official synopsis states: “Once a proud finishing school for aspiring pro wrestlers, the gym has since hit hard times. Acclaimed wrestler Al Snow clings to an old...
- 8/21/2023
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Andrew Renzi, director of Netflix docuseries Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?, is reuniting with Boardwalk Pictures.
Renzi and his North of Now production company have signed a multi-year overall deal with the company, which is behind series such as Chef’s Table, Cheer and Welcome to Wrexham and worked with Renzi on the Netflix series that told the story of two mountaineers who took on Pepsi in the ‘90s in a David and Goliath advertising battle.
It is Boardwalk’s latest overall deal, having recently struck an overall pact with with W. Kamau Bell’s recently launched Wkb Productions. It comes after Deadline revealed that Boardwalk has sold a minority interest to investment firm Shamrock Capital.
Renzi will work with Boardwalk to create non-fiction films and TV shows. It is a further expansion of Boardwalk Studios, which is led by Jordan Wynn, and is also behind premium docs such as Val.
Renzi and his North of Now production company have signed a multi-year overall deal with the company, which is behind series such as Chef’s Table, Cheer and Welcome to Wrexham and worked with Renzi on the Netflix series that told the story of two mountaineers who took on Pepsi in the ‘90s in a David and Goliath advertising battle.
It is Boardwalk’s latest overall deal, having recently struck an overall pact with with W. Kamau Bell’s recently launched Wkb Productions. It comes after Deadline revealed that Boardwalk has sold a minority interest to investment firm Shamrock Capital.
Renzi will work with Boardwalk to create non-fiction films and TV shows. It is a further expansion of Boardwalk Studios, which is led by Jordan Wynn, and is also behind premium docs such as Val.
- 6/21/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
While professional football has always captivated American audiences with its gladiatorial drama and drive, it’s at heart a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, propelled by profits and ratings. But amateur football, especially at the high school level, is a galvanizing force for communities, both rural and urban. It brings hope and unity; it’s an escape and an outlet; and for some it’s a pathway out of poverty.
Pete Berg’s Friday Night Lights, the feature film and subsequent long running fiction series about football culture in a small town in Texas, arguably paved the way for such docs as Undefeated, Last Chance U and Outta the Muck, where football serves as the narrative throughline and pretext for a deeper exploration of race and class. Boys in Blue, Berg’s docuseries about a Minneapolis high school football team and the sociocultural challenges that its community faces, premiered on Showtime in January...
Pete Berg’s Friday Night Lights, the feature film and subsequent long running fiction series about football culture in a small town in Texas, arguably paved the way for such docs as Undefeated, Last Chance U and Outta the Muck, where football serves as the narrative throughline and pretext for a deeper exploration of race and class. Boys in Blue, Berg’s docuseries about a Minneapolis high school football team and the sociocultural challenges that its community faces, premiered on Showtime in January...
- 6/16/2023
- by Tom White
- Deadline Film + TV
Amid an advertising downturn, media planners will be making their more selective bets after attending the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Newfronts this year, set for May 1-4 in New York. As executives ready their pitches, here are a few key questions for the main presenters.
Amazon
It’s already an advertising powerhouse, quietly generating more than $37 billion in ad revenue last year. But most of that ad revenue was tied to its retail business, where sellers are fighting to get in front of consumers. The Newfronts are more focused on video, where Amazon’s live sports properties and Freevee free streaming service are expected to have top billing. Thursday Night Football has quickly become the most popular live-streamed programming available, and the company is betting that its video ad business has room to expand. And there’s Twitch and the Fire TV platform, which also are expected to play a part in the pitch.
Amazon
It’s already an advertising powerhouse, quietly generating more than $37 billion in ad revenue last year. But most of that ad revenue was tied to its retail business, where sellers are fighting to get in front of consumers. The Newfronts are more focused on video, where Amazon’s live sports properties and Freevee free streaming service are expected to have top billing. Thursday Night Football has quickly become the most popular live-streamed programming available, and the company is betting that its video ad business has room to expand. And there’s Twitch and the Fire TV platform, which also are expected to play a part in the pitch.
- 4/28/2023
- by Alex Weprin, Caitlin Huston and J. Clara Chan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix and the National Football League are teaming up for the first time through new docuseries “Quarterbacks,” which will provide exclusive, unprecedented access to icons like Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota both on and off the field.
The docuseries, which has been greenlit for one season, will premiere in summer 2023 and include some of biggest moments of the 2022 season, such as Mahomes setting an NFL record for total offense on his way to winning the league and Super Bowl Mvp awards, Cousins engineering the greatest comeback in NFL history and leading the Minnesota Vikings to an NFC North Division title and Mariota taking over as the starting quarterback in his first season with the Atlanta Falcons.
Also Read:
Super Bowl Lvii Highlights: Mahomes Makes History With Second Championship Win
“We aim to give our members unprecedented access to the biggest athletes in the world, telling stories that you can’t see anywhere else,...
The docuseries, which has been greenlit for one season, will premiere in summer 2023 and include some of biggest moments of the 2022 season, such as Mahomes setting an NFL record for total offense on his way to winning the league and Super Bowl Mvp awards, Cousins engineering the greatest comeback in NFL history and leading the Minnesota Vikings to an NFC North Division title and Mariota taking over as the starting quarterback in his first season with the Atlanta Falcons.
Also Read:
Super Bowl Lvii Highlights: Mahomes Makes History With Second Championship Win
“We aim to give our members unprecedented access to the biggest athletes in the world, telling stories that you can’t see anywhere else,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
After winning the Super Bowl this February, Patrick Mahomes is spending the summer on Netflix. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback is one of the three leads in the streamer’s newly-announced docuseries “Quarterback,” set to premiere later this year.
“Quarterback” will focus on Mahomes, Kirk Cousins from the Minnesota Vikings, and Marcus Mariota of the Atlanta Falcons, and their respective journeys across the 2022-2023 NFL season, which ended in Mahomes winning the Super Bowl and being declared the game’s Mvp. All three had significant seasons this year, with Mahomes setting a record for total offense, Cousins leading the Vikings to an NFC North Division title in a comeback, and Mariota taking the role of starting quarterback in his first season with the Falcons. The show will provide access to the players on and off the field, as well as shining a light on their family life.
Mahomes’ newly formed...
“Quarterback” will focus on Mahomes, Kirk Cousins from the Minnesota Vikings, and Marcus Mariota of the Atlanta Falcons, and their respective journeys across the 2022-2023 NFL season, which ended in Mahomes winning the Super Bowl and being declared the game’s Mvp. All three had significant seasons this year, with Mahomes setting a record for total offense, Cousins leading the Vikings to an NFC North Division title in a comeback, and Mariota taking the role of starting quarterback in his first season with the Falcons. The show will provide access to the players on and off the field, as well as shining a light on their family life.
Mahomes’ newly formed...
- 2/22/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Exclusive: The non-fiction space is heating up in terms of M&a as Boardwalk Pictures, the company behind long-running Netflix series such as Chef’s Table and Last Chance U, has struck a deal to sell a minority stake.
The company, founded by Andrew Fried, has sold a stake to investment firm Shamrock Capital. No one is commenting, but we understand that the deal is in the nine-figure range.
The move is the latest big-ticket deal in the booming non-fiction space and follows deals such as Sony Pictures Television’s 350M acquisition of Industrial Media, Peter Chernin’s North Road Company’s 200M purchase of Red Arrow Studios, Fremantle’s acquisitive streak including companies such as 72 Films, and ITV Studio’s 126M deal for Plimsoll Productions.
Fried, who directed We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, founded the company in 2010 and also makes series such as FX’s Welcome To Wrexham, HBO Max’s The Big Brunch,...
The company, founded by Andrew Fried, has sold a stake to investment firm Shamrock Capital. No one is commenting, but we understand that the deal is in the nine-figure range.
The move is the latest big-ticket deal in the booming non-fiction space and follows deals such as Sony Pictures Television’s 350M acquisition of Industrial Media, Peter Chernin’s North Road Company’s 200M purchase of Red Arrow Studios, Fremantle’s acquisitive streak including companies such as 72 Films, and ITV Studio’s 126M deal for Plimsoll Productions.
Fried, who directed We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, founded the company in 2010 and also makes series such as FX’s Welcome To Wrexham, HBO Max’s The Big Brunch,...
- 2/15/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Aside from Ken Burns or Steve James or Alex Gibney, or maybe Liz Garbus, very few documentarians get to name their formal terms. They make a feature or something longer based on what the marketplace demands or, more frequently, based on limitations of money or access.
So it isn’t like Sam Osborn and Alejandra Vasquez, directors of Going Varsity in Mariachi, necessarily looked at their available footage and said, “Sure, we know this is really best-served being a TV series, but nah.” They told the story they could tell and if Going Varsity in Mariachi is one of those movies that’s good at 104 minutes, but could have been spectacular at eight hours, that’s unfortunately just the state of the business sometimes. And Going Varsity in Mariachi is quite good as it is, an endearingly wholesome and frequently vibrant feature. But almost every one of my reservations boils down to,...
So it isn’t like Sam Osborn and Alejandra Vasquez, directors of Going Varsity in Mariachi, necessarily looked at their available footage and said, “Sure, we know this is really best-served being a TV series, but nah.” They told the story they could tell and if Going Varsity in Mariachi is one of those movies that’s good at 104 minutes, but could have been spectacular at eight hours, that’s unfortunately just the state of the business sometimes. And Going Varsity in Mariachi is quite good as it is, an endearingly wholesome and frequently vibrant feature. But almost every one of my reservations boils down to,...
- 1/23/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Last Chance U: Basketball is a doc series about s college basketball team directed by Greg Whiteley, Adam Leibowitz and Daniel McDonald.
Sports fans! Here is the second season of the Emmy Award winning series. This time around it is the great sport, basketball, that sets the stage.
Last year we got to enjoy ‘Last Chance U‘, and were given an up and close look at the East Mississippi Community College football team. The Emmy award winning show has now, after an interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, completed its second season.
In eight episodes we get an inside look at the East L.A. College basketball team, the Huskies. We follow the players and the coach, and are shown their trajectory, that is by no means an easy ride. It is an intimate take where the protagonists show their vulnerable selves, their insecurities, their victories, their stories of hardship,...
Sports fans! Here is the second season of the Emmy Award winning series. This time around it is the great sport, basketball, that sets the stage.
Last year we got to enjoy ‘Last Chance U‘, and were given an up and close look at the East Mississippi Community College football team. The Emmy award winning show has now, after an interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, completed its second season.
In eight episodes we get an inside look at the East L.A. College basketball team, the Huskies. We follow the players and the coach, and are shown their trajectory, that is by no means an easy ride. It is an intimate take where the protagonists show their vulnerable selves, their insecurities, their victories, their stories of hardship,...
- 12/13/2022
- by TV Shows Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid - TV
Because no media story of the ’90s is complete without a streaming documentary about it, a docuseries examining a court case over an infamous Pepsi commercial is heading to Netflix. Four-part docuseries “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” will touch down onto the streamer November 17.
The series, which cheekily takes its name from stoner comedy “Dude, Where’s My Car?,” revolves around John Leonard, a college student who, in 1996, went on an ambitious quest to obtain 7 million “Pepsi Points,” a loyalty program that offered merchandise for customers who bought enough Pepsi cans. In a commercial for the program, Pepsi advertised that 7 million points (equivalent to about 4.3 million in Pepsi cases) could be redeemed for an Av-8 Harrier II jet.
The Coke competitor made it even easier via some fine print in the catalog that allowed one to buy Pepsi Points for just 10 cents apiece. In this case, 15 legitimate Pepsi Points plus a...
The series, which cheekily takes its name from stoner comedy “Dude, Where’s My Car?,” revolves around John Leonard, a college student who, in 1996, went on an ambitious quest to obtain 7 million “Pepsi Points,” a loyalty program that offered merchandise for customers who bought enough Pepsi cans. In a commercial for the program, Pepsi advertised that 7 million points (equivalent to about 4.3 million in Pepsi cases) could be redeemed for an Av-8 Harrier II jet.
The Coke competitor made it even easier via some fine print in the catalog that allowed one to buy Pepsi Points for just 10 cents apiece. In this case, 15 legitimate Pepsi Points plus a...
- 10/24/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Exclusive: UTA’s unscripted television department is getting a new agent.
Joe Labracio, who was most recently Co-President of Love Productions USA, the U.S. arm of The Great British Bake Off producer, is joining.
Based in LA, he will report to Partners & Co-Heads of Unscripted Television, David Kirsch and Geoff Suddleson.
Labracio was recently responsible for the revival of The Great American Baking Show for Roku. He previously spent six years as EVP, Nonfiction Television and Documentaries at Condé Nast Entertainment, where he developed and sold projects such as Last Chance U to Netflix.
He returns to UTA, where he previously worked in its unscripted department and helped build its international format, broadcast, and cable television businesses
He has also served as an agent at CAA and an unscripted development and production executive at CBS, after beginning his career working for Ted Koppel at ABC News’ Nightline.
“Joe’s expansive production and development experience,...
Joe Labracio, who was most recently Co-President of Love Productions USA, the U.S. arm of The Great British Bake Off producer, is joining.
Based in LA, he will report to Partners & Co-Heads of Unscripted Television, David Kirsch and Geoff Suddleson.
Labracio was recently responsible for the revival of The Great American Baking Show for Roku. He previously spent six years as EVP, Nonfiction Television and Documentaries at Condé Nast Entertainment, where he developed and sold projects such as Last Chance U to Netflix.
He returns to UTA, where he previously worked in its unscripted department and helped build its international format, broadcast, and cable television businesses
He has also served as an agent at CAA and an unscripted development and production executive at CBS, after beginning his career working for Ted Koppel at ABC News’ Nightline.
“Joe’s expansive production and development experience,...
- 9/14/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s easy to say that, in a sports documentary series like “Cheer,” winning doesn’t matter as much. Regardless of the outcome of a particular season, it’s about getting to know the people participating in that pursuit along the way. But after six seasons involved with making different versions of the Netflix doc series “Last Chance U,” director Greg Whiteley soon discovered that the world of cheerleading made for even more intense pressure on how the team at Navarro College finished any given spring.
It’s something that he was especially aware of going into the show’s Season 2.
“We hit upon a formula in ‘Last Chance U’ that was helpful. The season could go into the tank from the team standpoint, but you still had individual championships. If they were to go on to get a D1 scholarship, that was a very pleasing arc to demonstrate. But...
It’s something that he was especially aware of going into the show’s Season 2.
“We hit upon a formula in ‘Last Chance U’ that was helpful. The season could go into the tank from the team standpoint, but you still had individual championships. If they were to go on to get a D1 scholarship, that was a very pleasing arc to demonstrate. But...
- 1/27/2022
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Director Greg Whiteley is giving a crash course in Cheer. In a recent interview on the Reality Life With Kate Casey Podcast, the documentarian broke down the many intricacies of cheerleading and revealed what drew his attention to the tiny town of Corsicana, Texas. To kick things off, Greg delved into his introduction to Navarro and Monica Aldama, recalling how he was in the middle of filming Last Chance U when his crew noticed the cheerleaders on the sidelines. "In an effort to do things differently, we went and filmed one of their practices," he explained, "and it was strangely intense." After that, he began researching the top college cheer teams and found out about...
- 1/26/2022
- E! Online
1. “Ozark” Season 4, Part 1 (available January 21)
Why Should I Watch? The beginning of the end starts with a premiere episode titled… “The Beginning of the End.” Jason Bateman’s breakthrough dramatic turn — as Marty Byrde, an accountant-turned-money-launderer who flees to the middle of Missouri with his family to make big profits for his cartel lord clients — will come to a close in 2022 via a supersized final season. Part 1 premieres January 21 with eight episodes, before the last eight entries debut at a later date. By now, you know if you’re onboard with the dark crime saga, and if you don’t, knowing the end is right around the corner should be reason enough to get going. Just take your time. Unlike the Byrdes, who were last seen in the bloody embrace of their unpredictable boss, you’ve got a bit of breathing room.
Bonus Reason: Laura Linney. Everyone who’s seen...
Why Should I Watch? The beginning of the end starts with a premiere episode titled… “The Beginning of the End.” Jason Bateman’s breakthrough dramatic turn — as Marty Byrde, an accountant-turned-money-launderer who flees to the middle of Missouri with his family to make big profits for his cartel lord clients — will come to a close in 2022 via a supersized final season. Part 1 premieres January 21 with eight episodes, before the last eight entries debut at a later date. By now, you know if you’re onboard with the dark crime saga, and if you don’t, knowing the end is right around the corner should be reason enough to get going. Just take your time. Unlike the Byrdes, who were last seen in the bloody embrace of their unpredictable boss, you’ve got a bit of breathing room.
Bonus Reason: Laura Linney. Everyone who’s seen...
- 1/2/2022
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
In no small part because the 2020 fall football season was heavily impacted by Covid-19 — some schedules truncated, others canceled entirely — it feels like a long time has passed since I last watched a movie or TV documentary about a plucky group of gridiron underdogs, their loving-yet-belligerent coach and the community that lives and dies under the glare of Friday night lights.
The pipeline for seasons of Netflix’s Last Chance U and its myriad imitators may have temporarily dried up, but Last Chance U still looms large in my mind as a representation of the best in sports-related nonfiction ...
The pipeline for seasons of Netflix’s Last Chance U and its myriad imitators may have temporarily dried up, but Last Chance U still looms large in my mind as a representation of the best in sports-related nonfiction ...
- 11/14/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In no small part because the 2020 fall football season was heavily impacted by Covid-19 — some schedules truncated, others canceled entirely — it feels like a long time has passed since I last watched a movie or TV documentary about a plucky group of gridiron underdogs, their loving-yet-belligerent coach and the community that lives and dies under the glare of Friday night lights.
The pipeline for seasons of Netflix’s Last Chance U and its myriad imitators may have temporarily dried up, but Last Chance U still looms large in my mind as a representation of the best in sports-related nonfiction ...
The pipeline for seasons of Netflix’s Last Chance U and its myriad imitators may have temporarily dried up, but Last Chance U still looms large in my mind as a representation of the best in sports-related nonfiction ...
- 11/14/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Dan Levy’s production calendar just keeps exploding. The latest project for the multi-hyphenate, cooking competition series “The Big Brunch,” which also comes from Boardwalk Pictures, has been ordered at HBO Max with a 2022 targeted premiere.
Levy created and will host the series that centers around celebrating inspiring but still undiscovered culinary voices from all across the U.S — but also brunch. As the title promises, the competing chefs will have to find innovative and personal ways to redefine what it means to dine between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The series will spotlight the chefs’ stories and business dreams while also giving them a chance to compete for a “life-altering prize.” (HBO Max has yet to announced the specific details around the episodic format or prize amount.)
“Everybody has a friend, a family member, or a co-worker that is extraordinary at what they do, they just need a leg...
Levy created and will host the series that centers around celebrating inspiring but still undiscovered culinary voices from all across the U.S — but also brunch. As the title promises, the competing chefs will have to find innovative and personal ways to redefine what it means to dine between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The series will spotlight the chefs’ stories and business dreams while also giving them a chance to compete for a “life-altering prize.” (HBO Max has yet to announced the specific details around the episodic format or prize amount.)
“Everybody has a friend, a family member, or a co-worker that is extraordinary at what they do, they just need a leg...
- 11/1/2021
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
On the second Monday of September, just one week ahead of her one-year anniversary as president of Condé Nast Entertainment, Agnes Chu attended her first Met Gala. She walked the red carpet outside New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Inside, she sat at a table opposite Elon Musk, where she took in a tribute to Broadway and Justin Bieber’s “jaw-dropping” live performance. She also had a bit of a “geeky girl” reaction when meeting “Game of Thrones” stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie.
But beyond the glitz and glamour of celebrity run-ins, Chu’s first Met Gala held larger significance. The function doubled as a litmus test for the new global content strategy of Condé Nast Entertainment, the multimedia arm of the storied magazine company — which counts Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Wired among its Tiffany brands — and is focused on targeting audiences any way they can be reached,...
But beyond the glitz and glamour of celebrity run-ins, Chu’s first Met Gala held larger significance. The function doubled as a litmus test for the new global content strategy of Condé Nast Entertainment, the multimedia arm of the storied magazine company — which counts Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Wired among its Tiffany brands — and is focused on targeting audiences any way they can be reached,...
- 9/29/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Sports stories have traditionally belonged to the movies. Something about the rhythms of competition, in which an athlete or team trains, plays, and then either wins or loses, is a natural fit for the film world’s three act structure.
Television, with its multiple episodes and seasons, is often more discursive and therefore less viable for truly great sports stories. Thankfully, that all seems poised to change. While some sports TV shows have found success in the past, now the medium has really kicked things up a notch. Sports stories like Brockmire, Ted Lasso, Cobra Kai, and more are not only welcome on television, but an essential part of the cable and streaming landscape.
Read more TV The United States of TV High Schools By Alec Bojalad Movies The Best Sports Documentaries To Stream By Scott Fontana and 2 others
With that in mind, it’s high time we pay homage...
Television, with its multiple episodes and seasons, is often more discursive and therefore less viable for truly great sports stories. Thankfully, that all seems poised to change. While some sports TV shows have found success in the past, now the medium has really kicked things up a notch. Sports stories like Brockmire, Ted Lasso, Cobra Kai, and more are not only welcome on television, but an essential part of the cable and streaming landscape.
Read more TV The United States of TV High Schools By Alec Bojalad Movies The Best Sports Documentaries To Stream By Scott Fontana and 2 others
With that in mind, it’s high time we pay homage...
- 7/23/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Love Productions USA (The Great American Baking Show) is set to produce Rhino Reboot, a series following the rebuilding of perennial underdog soccer team, The Rochester Rhinos, after sealing a deal with newly announced co-owners Jamie Vardy and David and Wendy Dworkin.
The Rhinos, a club that has struggled to find itself and establish a winning streak, last played professionally in the 2017 Usl season, but are anticipating a turnaround as they gear up for action in 2022.
The series will document the growth of the franchise as global football phenom Vardy and the Dworkins fill senior roles, including identifying a head coach and chief business officer, sourcing talented young local players who haven’t yet played at the competitive level, and trying to build a team both on and off the pitch. Rhino Reboot will have unfettered access to management, the coaching team, the owners, players and backroom staff. Vardy was...
The Rhinos, a club that has struggled to find itself and establish a winning streak, last played professionally in the 2017 Usl season, but are anticipating a turnaround as they gear up for action in 2022.
The series will document the growth of the franchise as global football phenom Vardy and the Dworkins fill senior roles, including identifying a head coach and chief business officer, sourcing talented young local players who haven’t yet played at the competitive level, and trying to build a team both on and off the pitch. Rhino Reboot will have unfettered access to management, the coaching team, the owners, players and backroom staff. Vardy was...
- 6/24/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Great British soccer star Jamie Vardy has teamed up with Love Productions USA on a new documentary series, “Rhino Reboot,” that will see him attempt to rebuild underdog soccer team The Rochester Rhinos.
Vardy, a Premier League soccer player who has also played for England, co-owns the Rhinos along with Sacramento Kings co-owners David and Wendy Dworkin. The series will offer exclusive access to the team’s management, coaching team, owners, players and staff as Vardy and his colleagues re-boot the Rhinos’ image and, hopefully, their performance as they make a bid for glory in 2022.
Among Vardy and the Dworkins’ first tasks will be finding a head coach and chief business officer, scouting for young players and building a team.
Love Productions USA is the U.S. arm of “Great British Bake-Off” producer Love Productions. Its co-presidents, Joe Labracio and Al Edgington, have worked on sports productions including “Last Chance U...
Vardy, a Premier League soccer player who has also played for England, co-owns the Rhinos along with Sacramento Kings co-owners David and Wendy Dworkin. The series will offer exclusive access to the team’s management, coaching team, owners, players and staff as Vardy and his colleagues re-boot the Rhinos’ image and, hopefully, their performance as they make a bid for glory in 2022.
Among Vardy and the Dworkins’ first tasks will be finding a head coach and chief business officer, scouting for young players and building a team.
Love Productions USA is the U.S. arm of “Great British Bake-Off” producer Love Productions. Its co-presidents, Joe Labracio and Al Edgington, have worked on sports productions including “Last Chance U...
- 6/24/2021
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
NewFronts mainstay Condé Nast announced 75 returning series and 50 new pilots, plus a renewed emphasis on long-form and live programming.
The company delivered an online presentation for the second year in a row, but it included initiatives based on live events, an element that was missing in the Covid-affected 2020 pitch to advertisers.
Along with projects like Netflix’s Last Chance U and Escape from Spiderhead, Condé Nast Entertainment — led by Disney alum Agnes Chu — two other examples were mentioned. The Woman Shaking Up the Diamond Industry is set up at Sony and is based on Ed Caesar’s 2020 New Yorker piece. And Yes People, from Cne’s New Yorker Studios, earned an Oscar nomination this year for Best Animated Short Film.
The slate of digital programming will range across 17 brand channels, including a relaunched one for Vanity Fair. The magazine’s longtime Oscar presence will anchor a live programming push, as...
The company delivered an online presentation for the second year in a row, but it included initiatives based on live events, an element that was missing in the Covid-affected 2020 pitch to advertisers.
Along with projects like Netflix’s Last Chance U and Escape from Spiderhead, Condé Nast Entertainment — led by Disney alum Agnes Chu — two other examples were mentioned. The Woman Shaking Up the Diamond Industry is set up at Sony and is based on Ed Caesar’s 2020 New Yorker piece. And Yes People, from Cne’s New Yorker Studios, earned an Oscar nomination this year for Best Animated Short Film.
The slate of digital programming will range across 17 brand channels, including a relaunched one for Vanity Fair. The magazine’s longtime Oscar presence will anchor a live programming push, as...
- 5/4/2021
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
No, you’re not imagining things. There have been a whole lot of coaches on your TV and/or laptop screens over the past year — a boon for a captive audience desperately craving inspiration to avoid getting bogged down in society’s bleakness.
There are the real-life, obscenity-spewing gurus of Netflix’s Last Chance U; the animated, obscenity-spewing trainer of Netflix’s best-forgotten Hoops; the reticently returning Gordon Bombay on Disney+’s Mighty Ducks: Game Changers; and the grieving NHL veteran at the center of HBO Max’s Beartown. Then, of course, there is the dean of this pack: Jason Sudeikis’ eponymous hero in ...
There are the real-life, obscenity-spewing gurus of Netflix’s Last Chance U; the animated, obscenity-spewing trainer of Netflix’s best-forgotten Hoops; the reticently returning Gordon Bombay on Disney+’s Mighty Ducks: Game Changers; and the grieving NHL veteran at the center of HBO Max’s Beartown. Then, of course, there is the dean of this pack: Jason Sudeikis’ eponymous hero in ...
- 4/13/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
No, you’re not imagining things. There have been a whole lot of coaches on your TV and/or laptop screens over the past year — a boon for a captive audience desperately craving inspiration to avoid getting bogged down in society’s bleakness.
There are the real-life, obscenity-spewing gurus of Netflix’s Last Chance U; the animated, obscenity-spewing trainer of Netflix’s best-forgotten Hoops; the reticently returning Gordon Bombay on Disney+’s Mighty Ducks: Game Changers; and the grieving NHL veteran at the center of HBO Max’s Beartown. Then, of course, there is the dean of this pack: Jason Sudeikis’ eponymous hero in ...
There are the real-life, obscenity-spewing gurus of Netflix’s Last Chance U; the animated, obscenity-spewing trainer of Netflix’s best-forgotten Hoops; the reticently returning Gordon Bombay on Disney+’s Mighty Ducks: Game Changers; and the grieving NHL veteran at the center of HBO Max’s Beartown. Then, of course, there is the dean of this pack: Jason Sudeikis’ eponymous hero in ...
- 4/13/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Last Chance U” has a complex relationship with yelling. Any portrait of a collegiate sports team is going to have its fair share of volatile moments, whether in the heat of a game or in some high-friction practice sessions. There were plenty of them over the five seasons that “Last Chance U” became a Netflix institution, following a junior college football team each fall. Emotions ran high for players looking to make their mark at their current level, with an eye toward advancing to a more prominent professional stage. Coaches toed the line between discipline and power, trying to assert their authority over an assorted group of young men.
In “Last Chance U: Basketball,” the documentary team’s first foray into a new sport, East Los Angeles College coach John Mosley has plenty of impassioned speeches of his own. Yet, that same occasional volatility over the course of this eight-episode...
In “Last Chance U: Basketball,” the documentary team’s first foray into a new sport, East Los Angeles College coach John Mosley has plenty of impassioned speeches of his own. Yet, that same occasional volatility over the course of this eight-episode...
- 3/12/2021
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Netflix’s “Last Chance U” went the basketball route this season, but it almost didn’t go to East Los Angeles College (Elac). Then Coach John Mosley’s pastor weighed in.
After “Last Chance U” director Greg Whiteley approached the Huskies’ head basketball coach with the opportunity to feature his team’s 2019-20 hoops season on Netflix, Mosley approached his priest — and the Juco coach was shocked by his pastor’s response.
“You gotta do it,” Mosley recalled for TheWrap. “They need to see that side of you. They need to see that message that you try to share.”
“Ultimately, [it was] my pastor, of all people,” the coach continued. “You would assume a pastor may say, ‘No, we don’t want the spotlight, we want to be humble.’ But he said, ‘Share that message. Share what God is doing to your life and share how you impacted those young men.'”
Share he did,...
After “Last Chance U” director Greg Whiteley approached the Huskies’ head basketball coach with the opportunity to feature his team’s 2019-20 hoops season on Netflix, Mosley approached his priest — and the Juco coach was shocked by his pastor’s response.
“You gotta do it,” Mosley recalled for TheWrap. “They need to see that side of you. They need to see that message that you try to share.”
“Ultimately, [it was] my pastor, of all people,” the coach continued. “You would assume a pastor may say, ‘No, we don’t want the spotlight, we want to be humble.’ But he said, ‘Share that message. Share what God is doing to your life and share how you impacted those young men.'”
Share he did,...
- 3/9/2021
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
When the first Last Chance U season premiered in 2016, it was easy to see what made the Netflix docuseries very good, but not necessarily what made it special. It required a little more time to see why and how Last Chance U has emerged as the most resilient and imitated sports reality franchise of the past decade.
What sets the Last Chance U franchise apart is its versatility. It’s been so long since it launched that it’s hard to remember that in the first two seasons, at East Mississippi Community College, the breakout star was an inspiring academic advisor. The next two ...
What sets the Last Chance U franchise apart is its versatility. It’s been so long since it launched that it’s hard to remember that in the first two seasons, at East Mississippi Community College, the breakout star was an inspiring academic advisor. The next two ...
When the first Last Chance U season premiered in 2016, it was easy to see what made the Netflix docuseries very good, but not necessarily what made it special. It required a little more time to see why and how Last Chance U has emerged as the most resilient and imitated sports reality franchise of the past decade.
What sets the Last Chance U franchise apart is its versatility. It’s been so long since it launched that it’s hard to remember that in the first two seasons, at East Mississippi Community College, the breakout star was an inspiring academic advisor. The next two ...
What sets the Last Chance U franchise apart is its versatility. It’s been so long since it launched that it’s hard to remember that in the first two seasons, at East Mississippi Community College, the breakout star was an inspiring academic advisor. The next two ...
Netflix released the trailer for Greg Whiteley’s “Last Chance U: Basketball” docuseries on Wednesday, and the two-minute preview’s flurry of slam dunks will not disappoint. Nor will the franchise’s latest fiery coach, John Mosley.
Having already binged the whole season of “Last Chance U: Basketball” (which Netflix is insisting on calling “Last Chance U: Basketball” Season 1 and Not “Last Chance U” Season 6) via screeners, this writer can assure you that Mosley is nicer than most of those football guys from the first five seasons. He’s just… passionate.
Watch the trailer via the video above.
As TheWrap previously first revealed, “Last Chance U: Basketball” premieres in its entirety on March 10 on Netflix. We also posted the first teaser from this first roundball season — watch that here.
Over the course of eight episodes, viewers will follow the East Los Angeles College Huskies (Elac) in their high stakes chase...
Having already binged the whole season of “Last Chance U: Basketball” (which Netflix is insisting on calling “Last Chance U: Basketball” Season 1 and Not “Last Chance U” Season 6) via screeners, this writer can assure you that Mosley is nicer than most of those football guys from the first five seasons. He’s just… passionate.
Watch the trailer via the video above.
As TheWrap previously first revealed, “Last Chance U: Basketball” premieres in its entirety on March 10 on Netflix. We also posted the first teaser from this first roundball season — watch that here.
Over the course of eight episodes, viewers will follow the East Los Angeles College Huskies (Elac) in their high stakes chase...
- 3/3/2021
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
“Last Chance U” is heading from the football field to the hardcourt for “Last Chance U: Basketball,” a spinoff of Greg Whiteley’s excellent Netflix docuseries. The new series, chronicles the 2019-20 season of junior-college hoops in California, will launch on March 10, 2021, TheWrap has learned.
We can also reveal the new show’s first teaser, in which Elac head coach John Mosley promises: “It’s hard as hell here.”
Watch that via the video above.
“Basketball builds character? Not necessarily,” Mosley says in the first-look video. “Basketball reveals.”
“Last Chance U: Basketball” provides an “honest, gritty look inside the world of community college basketball,” according to Netflix’s synopsis. Having seen the entirety of Season 1, we can sign off on that.
We can also co-sign that whole thing about “character” the passionate coach/preacher says in our sneak peek.
Over the course of eight episodes, viewers will follow the East...
We can also reveal the new show’s first teaser, in which Elac head coach John Mosley promises: “It’s hard as hell here.”
Watch that via the video above.
“Basketball builds character? Not necessarily,” Mosley says in the first-look video. “Basketball reveals.”
“Last Chance U: Basketball” provides an “honest, gritty look inside the world of community college basketball,” according to Netflix’s synopsis. Having seen the entirety of Season 1, we can sign off on that.
We can also co-sign that whole thing about “character” the passionate coach/preacher says in our sneak peek.
Over the course of eight episodes, viewers will follow the East...
- 2/10/2021
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
The new Netflix docuseries We Are: The Brooklyn Saints, follows the players, coaches, and parents of a youth football program for kids between the ages of eight and 13. On the older end of that spectrum is Kenan, who has to choose which New York high school he wants to attend, in the hopes of getting enough scouting attention to eventually land a college scholarship. The coach of one of his prospective schools runs down the absolutely brutal math: At any given time, a million kids in America are playing high school football,...
- 1/28/2021
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
Crip Camp, the Netflix documentary about a unique summer camp for disabled kids and its role propelling the disability rights movement, won Best Feature at the International Documentary Association’s IDA Awards, in something of an upset.
The film directed by Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (the latter attended the titular camp as a teen) also won the ABC News VideoSource Award, recognizing its skillful use of archival video from the 1970s to 1990s.
“I want to thank everybody at Camp Jened, the staff, the counselors and the campers,” said an emotional LeBrecht as he, Newnham and producer Sara Bolder accepted the award. “My life set a course when I went there and you all are responsible for this–you are so much a part of this award.”
Newnham added, “The hippie teens and counselors of Camp Jened could never have imagined the wide-reaching impact that their brief utopian community...
The film directed by Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (the latter attended the titular camp as a teen) also won the ABC News VideoSource Award, recognizing its skillful use of archival video from the 1970s to 1990s.
“I want to thank everybody at Camp Jened, the staff, the counselors and the campers,” said an emotional LeBrecht as he, Newnham and producer Sara Bolder accepted the award. “My life set a course when I went there and you all are responsible for this–you are so much a part of this award.”
Newnham added, “The hippie teens and counselors of Camp Jened could never have imagined the wide-reaching impact that their brief utopian community...
- 1/17/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
“Crip Camp” has been named the best documentary of 2020 at the 36th annual IDA Documentary Awards, the International Documentary Association announced on Saturday at a virtual ceremony.
The film, about an upstate New York summer camp for disabled teens that helped launch the disability rights movement, also won the ABC News VideoSource Award for its use of archival footage and finished as runner-up to “My Octopus Teacher” for the Pare Lorentz Award.
“Crip Camp,” a Netflix film that premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, won in a category whose other nominees were “Collective,” “Gunda,” “MLK/FBI,” “The Reason I Jump,” “Reunited,” “Softie,” “Time,” “The Truffle Hunters” and “Welcome to Chechnya.”
Garrett Bradley won the best director award for “Time” and also won the Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award for that film.
In the television categories, awards went to “American Experience” for curated series, “Last Chance U” for episodic series and...
The film, about an upstate New York summer camp for disabled teens that helped launch the disability rights movement, also won the ABC News VideoSource Award for its use of archival footage and finished as runner-up to “My Octopus Teacher” for the Pare Lorentz Award.
“Crip Camp,” a Netflix film that premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, won in a category whose other nominees were “Collective,” “Gunda,” “MLK/FBI,” “The Reason I Jump,” “Reunited,” “Softie,” “Time,” “The Truffle Hunters” and “Welcome to Chechnya.”
Garrett Bradley won the best director award for “Time” and also won the Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award for that film.
In the television categories, awards went to “American Experience” for curated series, “Last Chance U” for episodic series and...
- 1/17/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The International Documentary Association’s annual awards is usually a bustling get-together for the film and television non-fiction community. The 36th iteration was the usual pandemic-era virtual version, sans networking, but with returning host Willie Garson. “This past year has not been normal in any way,” said outgoing IDA executive director Simon Kilmurry. “If 2020/2021 has shown us anything, it’s that even with all the challenges we face and the grief we’ve had, the work of storytellers is essential.”
At the end of the streamlined affair, Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht’s “Crip Camp” (Netflix) took home both the Best Feature Award and ABC News VideoSource Award. “It’s one of the major civil rights stories of American history that had been forgotten,” said Newnham.
LeBrecht thanked Sundance for its support, as well as Camp Jened, he said: “My life set a course when I went there. You are all responsible,...
At the end of the streamlined affair, Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht’s “Crip Camp” (Netflix) took home both the Best Feature Award and ABC News VideoSource Award. “It’s one of the major civil rights stories of American history that had been forgotten,” said Newnham.
LeBrecht thanked Sundance for its support, as well as Camp Jened, he said: “My life set a course when I went there. You are all responsible,...
- 1/17/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The International Documentary Association’s annual awards is usually a bustling get-together for the film and television non-fiction community. The 36th iteration was the usual pandemic-era virtual version, sans networking, but with returning host Willie Garson. “This past year has not been normal in any way,” said outgoing IDA executive director Simon Kilmurry. “If 2020/2021 has shown us anything, it’s that even with all the challenges we face and the grief we’ve had, the work of storytellers is essential.”
At the end of the streamlined affair, Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht’s “Crip Camp” (Netflix) took home both the Best Feature Award and ABC News VideoSource Award. “It’s one of the major civil rights stories of American history that had been forgotten,” said Newnham.
LeBrecht thanked Sundance for its support, as well as Camp Jened, he said: “My life set a course when I went there. You are all responsible,...
At the end of the streamlined affair, Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht’s “Crip Camp” (Netflix) took home both the Best Feature Award and ABC News VideoSource Award. “It’s one of the major civil rights stories of American history that had been forgotten,” said Newnham.
LeBrecht thanked Sundance for its support, as well as Camp Jened, he said: “My life set a course when I went there. You are all responsible,...
- 1/17/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
“Anne With an E” (Netflix)
Final Episode Jan. 3 “Harvey Girls Forever!” (Netflix)
Final episode Jan. 10 “Limetown” (Facebook Watch)
Canceled Jan. 16 “Sorry for Your Loss” (Facebook Watch)
Canceled Jan. 16 “The Ranch” (Netflix)
Final episode Jan. 24 “Flirty Dancing” (Fox)
Final episode Jan. 25 “Star Wars Resistance” (Disney Channel)
Final episode Jan. 26 “Arrow” (The CW)
Final episode Jan. 28 “Homicide Hunter” (ID)
Final episode Jan. 29 “The Good Place” (NBC)
Final episode Jan. 30 “New Looney Tunes” (Boomerang)
Final episode Jan. 30 “Bojack Horseman” (Netflix)
Final episode Jan. 31 “Soundtrack” (Netflix)
Canceled Jan. 31 “Spinning Out” (Netflix)
Canceled Feb. 3 “Ray Donovan” (Showtime)
Canceled Feb. 4 “If Loving You Is Wrong” (OWN)
Canceled Feb. 5 “Power” (Starz)
Final episode Feb. 9 “Shimmer and Shine” (Nick Jr.)
Final episode Feb. 9 “Insatiable” (Netflix)
Canceled Feb. 14 “Mike Tyson Mysteries” (Adult Swim)
Final episode Feb. 16 “Criminal Minds” (CBS)
Final episode Feb. 19 “Fresh off the Boat” (ABC)
Final episode Feb. 21 “High Noon” (ESPN)
Canceled Feb. 25 “Hawaii Five-0” (CBS)
Canceled Feb.
Final Episode Jan. 3 “Harvey Girls Forever!” (Netflix)
Final episode Jan. 10 “Limetown” (Facebook Watch)
Canceled Jan. 16 “Sorry for Your Loss” (Facebook Watch)
Canceled Jan. 16 “The Ranch” (Netflix)
Final episode Jan. 24 “Flirty Dancing” (Fox)
Final episode Jan. 25 “Star Wars Resistance” (Disney Channel)
Final episode Jan. 26 “Arrow” (The CW)
Final episode Jan. 28 “Homicide Hunter” (ID)
Final episode Jan. 29 “The Good Place” (NBC)
Final episode Jan. 30 “New Looney Tunes” (Boomerang)
Final episode Jan. 30 “Bojack Horseman” (Netflix)
Final episode Jan. 31 “Soundtrack” (Netflix)
Canceled Jan. 31 “Spinning Out” (Netflix)
Canceled Feb. 3 “Ray Donovan” (Showtime)
Canceled Feb. 4 “If Loving You Is Wrong” (OWN)
Canceled Feb. 5 “Power” (Starz)
Final episode Feb. 9 “Shimmer and Shine” (Nick Jr.)
Final episode Feb. 9 “Insatiable” (Netflix)
Canceled Feb. 14 “Mike Tyson Mysteries” (Adult Swim)
Final episode Feb. 16 “Criminal Minds” (CBS)
Final episode Feb. 19 “Fresh off the Boat” (ABC)
Final episode Feb. 21 “High Noon” (ESPN)
Canceled Feb. 25 “Hawaii Five-0” (CBS)
Canceled Feb.
- 12/31/2020
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
At this point, we’re almost legally obligated to start off TV roundups with some variation on this idea that there’s a lot of TV out there, but it really is impossible to keep up with everything. And calling attention to it doesn’t make it any less true!
So, given that TV time is reaching astronomical heights in 2020, how does one find something to watch, let alone focus on just the best of the best? That’s where we come in.
Keeping track of the dizzying amount of television we’ve reviewed so far in 2020 is a task in and of itself, so we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible. Below, we’ve gathered each of our 2020 TV reviews, each with a season number and the network/service where the new episodes first aired for U.S. audiences. Hopefully, this will help you decide what...
So, given that TV time is reaching astronomical heights in 2020, how does one find something to watch, let alone focus on just the best of the best? That’s where we come in.
Keeping track of the dizzying amount of television we’ve reviewed so far in 2020 is a task in and of itself, so we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible. Below, we’ve gathered each of our 2020 TV reviews, each with a season number and the network/service where the new episodes first aired for U.S. audiences. Hopefully, this will help you decide what...
- 12/28/2020
- by Kristen Lopez and Steve Greene
- Indiewire
In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright welcomes We Are The Geordies producer Zee Zomorrodian to talk Newcastle United and 5 Great Sporting Documentaries – including:
Hoop Dreams (1994) When We Were Kings (1996) Next Goal Wins (2014) Forever Pure (2016) Last Chance U (2016)
While you may be familiar with Nufc legends like Alan Shearer, Malcolm Macdonald, Les Ferdinand and, of course, Rafa Benítez, the legions of fans are the real stars in We Are The Geordies. It takes a unique look through the eyes of 11 Nufc fans from across the spectrum, an in-depth, close-up view of what it takes to be a supporter: the travelling, the sacrifices the highs, the lows, the passion, the unwavering belief – the Faith – as we join them on their arduous and emotional season-long journey to help lift a once great club back to the top flight. Led by world-renowned manager, Rafa Benítez, who only six months earlier...
Hoop Dreams (1994) When We Were Kings (1996) Next Goal Wins (2014) Forever Pure (2016) Last Chance U (2016)
While you may be familiar with Nufc legends like Alan Shearer, Malcolm Macdonald, Les Ferdinand and, of course, Rafa Benítez, the legions of fans are the real stars in We Are The Geordies. It takes a unique look through the eyes of 11 Nufc fans from across the spectrum, an in-depth, close-up view of what it takes to be a supporter: the travelling, the sacrifices the highs, the lows, the passion, the unwavering belief – the Faith – as we join them on their arduous and emotional season-long journey to help lift a once great club back to the top flight. Led by world-renowned manager, Rafa Benítez, who only six months earlier...
- 12/4/2020
- by Stuart Wright
- Nerdly
Just as Die Hard was hardly the first great ’80s action movie yet became the template for countless enclosed-space-thrillers, Netflix’s Last Chance U was far from the first football docuseries yet now it feels like every week sees the arrival of a new, very minor wrinkle on that formula.
It’s a formula that goes something like: 40 percent tough-but-loving coach with an appetite for colorful obscenities and an ooey-gooey emotional center; 40 percent players including (but not limited to) the established superstar battling injuries and the out-of-nowhere scrub who becomes a star; and 20 percent portrait of an inevitably ...
It’s a formula that goes something like: 40 percent tough-but-loving coach with an appetite for colorful obscenities and an ooey-gooey emotional center; 40 percent players including (but not limited to) the established superstar battling injuries and the out-of-nowhere scrub who becomes a star; and 20 percent portrait of an inevitably ...
- 11/25/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Just as Die Hard was hardly the first great ’80s action movie yet became the template for countless enclosed-space-thrillers, Netflix’s Last Chance U was far from the first football docuseries yet now it feels like every week sees the arrival of a new, very minor wrinkle on that formula.
It’s a formula that goes something like: 40 percent tough-but-loving coach with an appetite for colorful obscenities and an ooey-gooey emotional center; 40 percent players including (but not limited to) the established superstar battling injuries and the out-of-nowhere scrub who becomes a star; and 20 percent portrait of an inevitably ...
It’s a formula that goes something like: 40 percent tough-but-loving coach with an appetite for colorful obscenities and an ooey-gooey emotional center; 40 percent players including (but not limited to) the established superstar battling injuries and the out-of-nowhere scrub who becomes a star; and 20 percent portrait of an inevitably ...
- 11/25/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Crip Camp” leads all films in nominations for the 36th annual IDA Documentary Awards, the International Documentary Association announced on Tuesday.
The film by directors Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht deals with a New York summer camp in the early 1970s that became a key launching pad for the disability rights movement. It was an opening-night film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the documentary audience award.
“Crip Camp” received five IDA doc awards nominations, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Writing. Four films received three nominations each: Sam Pollard’s “MLK/FBI,” Garrett Bradley’s “Time,” Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s “The Truffle Hunters” and Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed’s “My Octopus Teacher,” the only film whose three nominations did not include the Best Feature category.
Other Best Feature nominees are “Collective,” “Gunda,” “The Reason I Jump,” “Reunited,” “Softie” and “Welcome to Chechnya.
The film by directors Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht deals with a New York summer camp in the early 1970s that became a key launching pad for the disability rights movement. It was an opening-night film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the documentary audience award.
“Crip Camp” received five IDA doc awards nominations, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Writing. Four films received three nominations each: Sam Pollard’s “MLK/FBI,” Garrett Bradley’s “Time,” Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s “The Truffle Hunters” and Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed’s “My Octopus Teacher,” the only film whose three nominations did not include the Best Feature category.
Other Best Feature nominees are “Collective,” “Gunda,” “The Reason I Jump,” “Reunited,” “Softie” and “Welcome to Chechnya.
- 11/24/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The International Documentary Association has announced the nominees for its 36th Annual IDA Documentary Awards, and a certain streaming service dominates. Netflix scored a leading 18 noms for the 2020 IDAs, more than three times its nearest rival. PBS is second with five, followed by HBO (four).
The IDA also said today that its 2020 ceremony is going virtual on January 21.
“The nominees present an inspiring and urgent range of stories from around the globe,” said Simon Kilmurry, executive director of the IDA. “The broad range of subjects and approaches to storytelling underscores that documentary is our most exciting form of cultural expression, a vital art form and a crucial element of democratic dialogue.”
Ten films are up for the marquee Best Feature award: Collective, Crip Camp (Netflix), Gunda (Neon), MLK/FBI (IFC Films), The Reason I Jump (Kino Lorber), Reunited, Softie, Time, The Truffle Hunters (Sony Pictures Classics) and Welcome to Chechnya (HBO).
The helmers of five of those films also are up for Best Director: Garrett Bradley (Time), Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw (The Truffle Hunters), Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (Crip Camp), Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI) and Jerry Rothwell (The Reason I Jump).
On the TV side, five programs will vie for Best Curated Series): ESPN’s 30 for 30, PBS’ American Experience, Thirteen Productions’ American Masters, Illinois Public Media’s Reel Midwest and PBS/World Channel’s Reel South.
The nominees for Best Episodic Series are Cheer (Netflix), Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America (AMC), Last Chance U (Netflix), Seven Planets, One World (BBC America) and We’re Here (HBO).
Up for Best Multi-Part Documentary are Asian Americans (PBS), Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered (HBO), City So Real (National Geographic), Hillary (Hulu) and Lenox Hill (Netflix).
“This is a year that has been one of reflection, looking inwards, and living life differently than we have always known it to be,” said James Costa, co-chair of the Feature Documentary Nominating Committee and IDA Board of Directors’ co-vice president. “Through the art of filmmaking these films gave us an opportunity to truly look and learn through the lenses of others.”
Here is the full list of nominees for the 2020 IDA Documentary Awards:
Best Feature
Collective
Director/Producer: Alexander Nanau
Producer: Bianca Oana
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix)
Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht
Producer: Sara Bolder
Gunda
Director: Victor Kossakovsky
Producer: Anita Rehoff Larsen
MLK/FBI (USA / IFC Films)
Director: Sam Pollard
Producer: Benjamin Hedin
The Reason I Jump
Director: Jerry Rothwell
Producers: Jeremy Dear, Stevie Lee, Al Morrow
Reunited (Denmark)
Director: Mira Jargil
Producer: Kirstine Barfod
Softie (Kenya / Pov)
Director/Producer: Sam Soko
Producer: Toni Kamau
Time
Director/Producer: Garrett Bradley
Producers: Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn
The Truffle Hunters
Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Welcome to Chechnya (USA / HBO)
Director/Producer: David France
Producers: Alice Henty, Joy A. Tomchin and Askold Kurov
Best Director
Garrett Bradley
Time
USA / Amazon Studios, Concordia Studio, The New York Times
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
The Truffle Hunters
USA, Italy, Greece / Sony Pictures Classics
Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht
Crip Camp
USA / Netflix
Sam Pollard
MLK/FBI
USA / IFC Films
Jerry Rothwell
The Reason I Jump
USA, UK / Kino Lorber
Best Short
Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa
Directors/Producers: Barbara Attie, Mike Attie, Janet Goldwater
All That Perishes at the Edge of Land (Pakistan)
Director/Producer: Hira Nabi
Producer: Till Passow
Huntsville Station (USA / New York Times Op-Docs)
Directors/Producers: Jamie Meltzer, Chris Filippone
Hysterical Girl (USA / New York Times Op-Docs)
Director: Kate Novack
Producer: Andrew Rossi
John Was Trying to Contact Aliens (USA / Netflix)
Director/Producer: Matthew Killip
The Lost Astronaut (USA / New York Times Op-Docs)
Director: Ben Proudfoot
Producers: Abby Lynn Kang Davis, Gabriel Berk Godoi
Mizuko
Directors/Producers: Kira Dane, Katelyn Rebelo
sống ở đây
Director/Producer: Melanie Ho
To Calm the Pig Inside (Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos) (Philippines)
Director/Producer: Joanna Vasquez Arong
Unforgivable (El Salvador)
Director/Producer: Marlén Viñayo
Producer: Carlos Martínez
Best Curated Series
30 for 30 (USA / ESPN)
Executive Producers: John Dahl, Libby Geist, Rob King, Erin Leyden, Connor Schell
American Experience (USA / PBS)
Executive Producers: Susan Bellows and Mark Samels
American Masters
Executive Producer: Michael Kantor
Reel Midwest (USA / Illinois Public Media)
Executive Producer: Moss Bresnahan
Reel South
Executive Producers: Don Godish and Rachel Raney
Best Episodic Series
Cheer (USA / Netflix)
Director/Executive Producer: Greg Whiteley
Producers: Adam Leibowitz, Arielle Kilker, Chelsea Yarnell
Executive Producers: Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jasper Thomlinson, Bert Hamelinck
Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America (USA / AMC)
Executive Producers: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Shawn Gee, Alex Gibney, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Shea Serrano, Angie Day, One9, Erik Parker, Isaac Bolden
Last Chance U (USA / Netflix)
Director/Executive Producer: Greg Whiteley
Executive Producers: Joe Labracio, James D. Stern, Lucas Smith, Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard
Seven Planets, One World (UK / BBC America)
Directors: Fredi Devas, Emma Napper, Giles Badger, Chadden Hunter
Executive Producer: Jonny Keeling
We’re Here (USA / HBO)
Executive Producers: Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Stephen Warren, Johnnie Ingram, Peter LoGreco, Erin Gamble
Best Multi-Part Documentary
Asian Americans (USA / PBS)
Directors: Leo Chiang, Geeta Gandbhir, Grace Lee
Producers: Renee Tajima-Peña, Mark Jonathan Harris
Executive Producers: Jeff Bieber, Sally Jo Fifer, Stephen Gong, Jean Tsien, Donald Young
Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered (USA / HBO)
Directors/Executive Producers: Sam Pollard, Maro Chermayeff, Joshua Bennett, Jeff Dupre
Executive Producers: John Legend, Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorious, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller
City So Real (USA / National Geographic)
Director/ Producer: Steve James.
Producer: Zak Piper.
Executive Producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Alex Kotlowitz, Gordon Quinn, Betsy Steinberg, Jolene Pinder
Hillary (USA / Hulu)
Director: Nanette Burstein
Producers: Isabel San Vargas, Timothy Moran, Chi-Young Park, Tal Ben-David
Executive Producers: Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, Nanette Burstein, Sierra Kos, Laurie Girion
Lenox Hill (USA / Netflix)
Directors/Executive Producers: Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz.
Executive Producer: Josh Braun
Best Short Form Series
Almost Famous (USA / New York Times Op-Docs)
Producers: Abby Lynn Kang Davis, Gabriel Berk Godoi and Jeremy Lambert
Executive Producer: Adam Ellick
Director: Ben Proudfoot
Guardian Documentaries
Producers: Shanida Scotland, Natasha Dack Ojumu and Nikki Parrott
Executive Producers: Charlie Phillips. Lindsay Poulton, Jess Gormley
Directors: Irene Baque, Laurence Topham, Sara Khaki, Mohammad Reza Eyni, Rebecca Lloyd-Evans, Laura Dodsworth, Dan McDougall
Last Call For The Bayou: 5 Stories from Louisiana’s Disappearing Delta (USA / Smithsonian Channel Plus)
Producer: Nadia Gill
Executive Producer: Gina Hutchinson
Director: Dominic Gill
Pov Shorts (USA / PBS)
Producer: Opal H. Bennett
Executive Producers: Justine Nagan and Chris White
Run This City (USA / Quibi)
Director: Brent Hodge
Producer: Prince Vaughn
Executive Producers: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, Brent Hodge
Best Audio Documentary
Crosses in the Desert / Cruces en el desierto
Reporter: Dennis Maxwell
Producers: Catalina May, Martín Cruz
Executive Producer: Martina Castro
Fiasco: Bush v. Gore (USA / Luminary)
Producers: Leon Neyfakh, Andrew Parsons
Girl Taken (UK / British Broadcasting Corporation)
Reporter: Sue Mitchell
Producer: Richard Hannaford
Executive Producer: Philip Sellars
Heavyweight – The Marshes (USA / Gimlet Media)
Reporter, Producer and Executive Producer: Jonathan Goldstein
Reporter and Producer: Kalila Holt.
Producers: Stevie Lane, Jorge Just, BA Parker, Bobby Lord
Somebody (USA / iHeartRadio)
Reporters and Producers: Alison Flowers, Bill Healy
Reporters: Sam Stecklow, Ellen Glover, Annie Nguyen, Kahari Blackburn, Rajiv Sinclair, Henri Adams, Matilda Vojak, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Frances McDonald, Diana Akmajian, Andrew Fan and Maddie Anderson
Producers: Shapearl Wells, Sarah Geis
Executive Producers: Jamie Kalven, Maria Zuckerman, Christy Gressman, Leital Molad
Best Music Documentary
Beastie Boys Story (USA / Apple TV+)
Director/Producer: Spike Jonze
Producers: Jason Baum and Amanda Adelson
Billie (UK / Greenwich Entertainment)
Director: James Erskine
Crock of Gold (USA / Magnolia Pictures)
Director/Producer: Julien Temple
Producers: Johnny Depp, Stephen Deuters, Stephen Malit
Los Hermanos / The Brothers
Directors/Producers: Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider
Universe (USA)
Directors: Sam Osborn and Nicholas Capezzera
Producers: Esther Dere and Leah Natasha Thomas
David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award
Bananas (UK / National Film and Television School)
Director/Producer: Sara Montoya Sepúlveda
Isle of Us (UK / National Film and Television School)
Director: Laura Wadha
Na Luta Delas (Brazil / Uc Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism)
Directors/Producers: Orion Rose Kelly and Pedro Cota
People Like Me (USA / University of California Santa Cruz)
Director/Producer: Marrok Sedgwick
Susana (USA / Stanford University)
Director: Laura Gamse
Producer: James Davis
Trees (UK / National Film and Television School)
Director: Rosie Morris
Producer: Jesse Romain
Best Cinematography
Acasă, My Home
Cinematographers: Radu Ciorniciuc and Mircea Topoleanu
Boys State
Director of Photography: Thorsten Thielow
The Earth is Blue as an Orange
Cinematographer: Viacheslav Tsvietkov
The Truffle Hunters
Cinematographers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Time
Cinematographers: Zac Manuel, Justin Zweifach, Nisa East
Best Editing
Boys State
Editor: Jeff Gilbert
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix)
Editors: Eileen Meyer and Andrew Gersh
Disclosure (USA / Netflix)
Editor: Stacy Goldate
Dick Johnson is Dead (USA / Netflix)
Editor: Nels Bangerter
Through the Night
Editor: Malika Zouhali-Worrall
Best Writing
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix)
Writers: Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht
Dick Johnson is Dead
(USA / Netflix)
Writers: Nels Bangerter and Kirsten Johnson
I Am Not Alone (USA / Netflix)
Writer: Garin Hovannisian
My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix)
Writers: Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed
Socks on Fire (USA)
Writers: Max Allman, Bo McGuire
Best Music Score
Dancing with the Birds (USA / Netflix)
Composer: David Mitcham
David Attenborough: Life On Our Planet
Composer: Steven Price
Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice (USA / Netflix)
Composer: Chapavich Temnitikul)
My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix)
Composer: Kevin Smuts
Rising Phoenix (USA / Netflix)
Composer: Daniel Pemberton
ABC News VideoSource Award
#Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump (USA / Dark Star)
Director/Producer: Dan Partland
Producer: Art Horan
Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn (USA / HBO)
Director: Ivy Meeropol
Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix)
Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht
Producer: Sara Bolder
Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections (USA / HBO)
Director: Sarah Teale
Directors/Producers: Simon Ardizzone and Russell Michaels
Producers: Michael Hirschorn and Jessica Antonini
MLK/FBI (USA / IFC Films)
Director: Sam Pollard
Producer: Benjamin Hedin
The First Rainbow Coalition
Director/Producer: Ray Santisteban
Pare Lorentz Award
Winner
My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix)
Director: Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed
Producer: Craig Foster
Honorable Mention
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix)
Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht
Producer: Sara Bolder
Honorary Awards
Amicus Award
Regina K. Scully
Career Achievement Award
Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI)
Courage Under Fire Award
David France, David Isteev and Olga Baranova (Welcome to Chechnya)
Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award
Garrett Bradley (Time)
Pioneer Award
Firelight Media
Truth to Power Award
Maria Ressa and Rappler (A Thousand Cuts)...
The IDA also said today that its 2020 ceremony is going virtual on January 21.
“The nominees present an inspiring and urgent range of stories from around the globe,” said Simon Kilmurry, executive director of the IDA. “The broad range of subjects and approaches to storytelling underscores that documentary is our most exciting form of cultural expression, a vital art form and a crucial element of democratic dialogue.”
Ten films are up for the marquee Best Feature award: Collective, Crip Camp (Netflix), Gunda (Neon), MLK/FBI (IFC Films), The Reason I Jump (Kino Lorber), Reunited, Softie, Time, The Truffle Hunters (Sony Pictures Classics) and Welcome to Chechnya (HBO).
The helmers of five of those films also are up for Best Director: Garrett Bradley (Time), Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw (The Truffle Hunters), Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (Crip Camp), Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI) and Jerry Rothwell (The Reason I Jump).
On the TV side, five programs will vie for Best Curated Series): ESPN’s 30 for 30, PBS’ American Experience, Thirteen Productions’ American Masters, Illinois Public Media’s Reel Midwest and PBS/World Channel’s Reel South.
The nominees for Best Episodic Series are Cheer (Netflix), Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America (AMC), Last Chance U (Netflix), Seven Planets, One World (BBC America) and We’re Here (HBO).
Up for Best Multi-Part Documentary are Asian Americans (PBS), Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered (HBO), City So Real (National Geographic), Hillary (Hulu) and Lenox Hill (Netflix).
“This is a year that has been one of reflection, looking inwards, and living life differently than we have always known it to be,” said James Costa, co-chair of the Feature Documentary Nominating Committee and IDA Board of Directors’ co-vice president. “Through the art of filmmaking these films gave us an opportunity to truly look and learn through the lenses of others.”
Here is the full list of nominees for the 2020 IDA Documentary Awards:
Best Feature
Collective
Director/Producer: Alexander Nanau
Producer: Bianca Oana
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix)
Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht
Producer: Sara Bolder
Gunda
Director: Victor Kossakovsky
Producer: Anita Rehoff Larsen
MLK/FBI (USA / IFC Films)
Director: Sam Pollard
Producer: Benjamin Hedin
The Reason I Jump
Director: Jerry Rothwell
Producers: Jeremy Dear, Stevie Lee, Al Morrow
Reunited (Denmark)
Director: Mira Jargil
Producer: Kirstine Barfod
Softie (Kenya / Pov)
Director/Producer: Sam Soko
Producer: Toni Kamau
Time
Director/Producer: Garrett Bradley
Producers: Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn
The Truffle Hunters
Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Welcome to Chechnya (USA / HBO)
Director/Producer: David France
Producers: Alice Henty, Joy A. Tomchin and Askold Kurov
Best Director
Garrett Bradley
Time
USA / Amazon Studios, Concordia Studio, The New York Times
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
The Truffle Hunters
USA, Italy, Greece / Sony Pictures Classics
Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht
Crip Camp
USA / Netflix
Sam Pollard
MLK/FBI
USA / IFC Films
Jerry Rothwell
The Reason I Jump
USA, UK / Kino Lorber
Best Short
Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa
Directors/Producers: Barbara Attie, Mike Attie, Janet Goldwater
All That Perishes at the Edge of Land (Pakistan)
Director/Producer: Hira Nabi
Producer: Till Passow
Huntsville Station (USA / New York Times Op-Docs)
Directors/Producers: Jamie Meltzer, Chris Filippone
Hysterical Girl (USA / New York Times Op-Docs)
Director: Kate Novack
Producer: Andrew Rossi
John Was Trying to Contact Aliens (USA / Netflix)
Director/Producer: Matthew Killip
The Lost Astronaut (USA / New York Times Op-Docs)
Director: Ben Proudfoot
Producers: Abby Lynn Kang Davis, Gabriel Berk Godoi
Mizuko
Directors/Producers: Kira Dane, Katelyn Rebelo
sống ở đây
Director/Producer: Melanie Ho
To Calm the Pig Inside (Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos) (Philippines)
Director/Producer: Joanna Vasquez Arong
Unforgivable (El Salvador)
Director/Producer: Marlén Viñayo
Producer: Carlos Martínez
Best Curated Series
30 for 30 (USA / ESPN)
Executive Producers: John Dahl, Libby Geist, Rob King, Erin Leyden, Connor Schell
American Experience (USA / PBS)
Executive Producers: Susan Bellows and Mark Samels
American Masters
Executive Producer: Michael Kantor
Reel Midwest (USA / Illinois Public Media)
Executive Producer: Moss Bresnahan
Reel South
Executive Producers: Don Godish and Rachel Raney
Best Episodic Series
Cheer (USA / Netflix)
Director/Executive Producer: Greg Whiteley
Producers: Adam Leibowitz, Arielle Kilker, Chelsea Yarnell
Executive Producers: Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jasper Thomlinson, Bert Hamelinck
Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America (USA / AMC)
Executive Producers: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Shawn Gee, Alex Gibney, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Shea Serrano, Angie Day, One9, Erik Parker, Isaac Bolden
Last Chance U (USA / Netflix)
Director/Executive Producer: Greg Whiteley
Executive Producers: Joe Labracio, James D. Stern, Lucas Smith, Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard
Seven Planets, One World (UK / BBC America)
Directors: Fredi Devas, Emma Napper, Giles Badger, Chadden Hunter
Executive Producer: Jonny Keeling
We’re Here (USA / HBO)
Executive Producers: Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Stephen Warren, Johnnie Ingram, Peter LoGreco, Erin Gamble
Best Multi-Part Documentary
Asian Americans (USA / PBS)
Directors: Leo Chiang, Geeta Gandbhir, Grace Lee
Producers: Renee Tajima-Peña, Mark Jonathan Harris
Executive Producers: Jeff Bieber, Sally Jo Fifer, Stephen Gong, Jean Tsien, Donald Young
Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered (USA / HBO)
Directors/Executive Producers: Sam Pollard, Maro Chermayeff, Joshua Bennett, Jeff Dupre
Executive Producers: John Legend, Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorious, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller
City So Real (USA / National Geographic)
Director/ Producer: Steve James.
Producer: Zak Piper.
Executive Producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Alex Kotlowitz, Gordon Quinn, Betsy Steinberg, Jolene Pinder
Hillary (USA / Hulu)
Director: Nanette Burstein
Producers: Isabel San Vargas, Timothy Moran, Chi-Young Park, Tal Ben-David
Executive Producers: Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, Nanette Burstein, Sierra Kos, Laurie Girion
Lenox Hill (USA / Netflix)
Directors/Executive Producers: Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz.
Executive Producer: Josh Braun
Best Short Form Series
Almost Famous (USA / New York Times Op-Docs)
Producers: Abby Lynn Kang Davis, Gabriel Berk Godoi and Jeremy Lambert
Executive Producer: Adam Ellick
Director: Ben Proudfoot
Guardian Documentaries
Producers: Shanida Scotland, Natasha Dack Ojumu and Nikki Parrott
Executive Producers: Charlie Phillips. Lindsay Poulton, Jess Gormley
Directors: Irene Baque, Laurence Topham, Sara Khaki, Mohammad Reza Eyni, Rebecca Lloyd-Evans, Laura Dodsworth, Dan McDougall
Last Call For The Bayou: 5 Stories from Louisiana’s Disappearing Delta (USA / Smithsonian Channel Plus)
Producer: Nadia Gill
Executive Producer: Gina Hutchinson
Director: Dominic Gill
Pov Shorts (USA / PBS)
Producer: Opal H. Bennett
Executive Producers: Justine Nagan and Chris White
Run This City (USA / Quibi)
Director: Brent Hodge
Producer: Prince Vaughn
Executive Producers: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, Brent Hodge
Best Audio Documentary
Crosses in the Desert / Cruces en el desierto
Reporter: Dennis Maxwell
Producers: Catalina May, Martín Cruz
Executive Producer: Martina Castro
Fiasco: Bush v. Gore (USA / Luminary)
Producers: Leon Neyfakh, Andrew Parsons
Girl Taken (UK / British Broadcasting Corporation)
Reporter: Sue Mitchell
Producer: Richard Hannaford
Executive Producer: Philip Sellars
Heavyweight – The Marshes (USA / Gimlet Media)
Reporter, Producer and Executive Producer: Jonathan Goldstein
Reporter and Producer: Kalila Holt.
Producers: Stevie Lane, Jorge Just, BA Parker, Bobby Lord
Somebody (USA / iHeartRadio)
Reporters and Producers: Alison Flowers, Bill Healy
Reporters: Sam Stecklow, Ellen Glover, Annie Nguyen, Kahari Blackburn, Rajiv Sinclair, Henri Adams, Matilda Vojak, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Frances McDonald, Diana Akmajian, Andrew Fan and Maddie Anderson
Producers: Shapearl Wells, Sarah Geis
Executive Producers: Jamie Kalven, Maria Zuckerman, Christy Gressman, Leital Molad
Best Music Documentary
Beastie Boys Story (USA / Apple TV+)
Director/Producer: Spike Jonze
Producers: Jason Baum and Amanda Adelson
Billie (UK / Greenwich Entertainment)
Director: James Erskine
Crock of Gold (USA / Magnolia Pictures)
Director/Producer: Julien Temple
Producers: Johnny Depp, Stephen Deuters, Stephen Malit
Los Hermanos / The Brothers
Directors/Producers: Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider
Universe (USA)
Directors: Sam Osborn and Nicholas Capezzera
Producers: Esther Dere and Leah Natasha Thomas
David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award
Bananas (UK / National Film and Television School)
Director/Producer: Sara Montoya Sepúlveda
Isle of Us (UK / National Film and Television School)
Director: Laura Wadha
Na Luta Delas (Brazil / Uc Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism)
Directors/Producers: Orion Rose Kelly and Pedro Cota
People Like Me (USA / University of California Santa Cruz)
Director/Producer: Marrok Sedgwick
Susana (USA / Stanford University)
Director: Laura Gamse
Producer: James Davis
Trees (UK / National Film and Television School)
Director: Rosie Morris
Producer: Jesse Romain
Best Cinematography
Acasă, My Home
Cinematographers: Radu Ciorniciuc and Mircea Topoleanu
Boys State
Director of Photography: Thorsten Thielow
The Earth is Blue as an Orange
Cinematographer: Viacheslav Tsvietkov
The Truffle Hunters
Cinematographers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Time
Cinematographers: Zac Manuel, Justin Zweifach, Nisa East
Best Editing
Boys State
Editor: Jeff Gilbert
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix)
Editors: Eileen Meyer and Andrew Gersh
Disclosure (USA / Netflix)
Editor: Stacy Goldate
Dick Johnson is Dead (USA / Netflix)
Editor: Nels Bangerter
Through the Night
Editor: Malika Zouhali-Worrall
Best Writing
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix)
Writers: Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht
Dick Johnson is Dead
(USA / Netflix)
Writers: Nels Bangerter and Kirsten Johnson
I Am Not Alone (USA / Netflix)
Writer: Garin Hovannisian
My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix)
Writers: Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed
Socks on Fire (USA)
Writers: Max Allman, Bo McGuire
Best Music Score
Dancing with the Birds (USA / Netflix)
Composer: David Mitcham
David Attenborough: Life On Our Planet
Composer: Steven Price
Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice (USA / Netflix)
Composer: Chapavich Temnitikul)
My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix)
Composer: Kevin Smuts
Rising Phoenix (USA / Netflix)
Composer: Daniel Pemberton
ABC News VideoSource Award
#Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump (USA / Dark Star)
Director/Producer: Dan Partland
Producer: Art Horan
Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn (USA / HBO)
Director: Ivy Meeropol
Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix)
Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht
Producer: Sara Bolder
Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections (USA / HBO)
Director: Sarah Teale
Directors/Producers: Simon Ardizzone and Russell Michaels
Producers: Michael Hirschorn and Jessica Antonini
MLK/FBI (USA / IFC Films)
Director: Sam Pollard
Producer: Benjamin Hedin
The First Rainbow Coalition
Director/Producer: Ray Santisteban
Pare Lorentz Award
Winner
My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix)
Director: Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed
Producer: Craig Foster
Honorable Mention
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix)
Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht
Producer: Sara Bolder
Honorary Awards
Amicus Award
Regina K. Scully
Career Achievement Award
Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI)
Courage Under Fire Award
David France, David Isteev and Olga Baranova (Welcome to Chechnya)
Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award
Garrett Bradley (Time)
Pioneer Award
Firelight Media
Truth to Power Award
Maria Ressa and Rappler (A Thousand Cuts)...
- 11/24/2020
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s rare to come across a documentary series that feels like it should be longer. In a corner of the TV world where runtimes can overinflate and attention can wane fairly easily, the frequent argument for these shows is to keep them tighter and more narratively compact.
The reverse ends up being true for “The Cost of Winning,” a new HBO series following the 2019 football season of the Baltimore-area, nationally recognized athletics powerhouse St. Frances Academy. With a team made up of plenty of college recruits and a schedule of high-profile opponents across the country, the show makes the argument that the Panthers carry the weight of expectations faced by few others at the high school level.
But while it threads the needle at points between adopting the styles of the Netflix junior college football series “Last Chance U” and the long-running HBO training camp staple “Hard Knocks,” this...
The reverse ends up being true for “The Cost of Winning,” a new HBO series following the 2019 football season of the Baltimore-area, nationally recognized athletics powerhouse St. Frances Academy. With a team made up of plenty of college recruits and a schedule of high-profile opponents across the country, the show makes the argument that the Panthers carry the weight of expectations faced by few others at the high school level.
But while it threads the needle at points between adopting the styles of the Netflix junior college football series “Last Chance U” and the long-running HBO training camp staple “Hard Knocks,” this...
- 11/10/2020
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
ESPN and Fox led all networks at Tuesday’s 41st annual Sports Emmy Awards, with each network picking up seven prizes.
Fox’s coverage of Super Bowl Liv picked up four Emmys, the most of any individual program, followed by HBO’s “24/7,” which earned three.
TNT’s Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley were recognized as Outstanding studio host and analyst, while NBC’s Mike Emrick was honored for his play-by-play work and Kirk Herbstreit as best sports event analyst.
Fox Sports’ Lindsay Czarniak and NBC’s Craig Melvin hosted the livestreamed ceremony, which recognized winners in more than 35 categories.
Also Read: Writers and Directors Guilds Push Back on Plan to Pull Categories From Primetime Emmys: 'WGA Has Not Agreed to Anything'
The complete list of winners follows.
Outstanding Live Sports Special
The Masters (CBS)
Outstanding Live Sports Series
NFL on CBS (CBS)
Outstanding Playoff Coverage
NCAA Men’s Basketball...
Fox’s coverage of Super Bowl Liv picked up four Emmys, the most of any individual program, followed by HBO’s “24/7,” which earned three.
TNT’s Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley were recognized as Outstanding studio host and analyst, while NBC’s Mike Emrick was honored for his play-by-play work and Kirk Herbstreit as best sports event analyst.
Fox Sports’ Lindsay Czarniak and NBC’s Craig Melvin hosted the livestreamed ceremony, which recognized winners in more than 35 categories.
Also Read: Writers and Directors Guilds Push Back on Plan to Pull Categories From Primetime Emmys: 'WGA Has Not Agreed to Anything'
The complete list of winners follows.
Outstanding Live Sports Special
The Masters (CBS)
Outstanding Live Sports Series
NFL on CBS (CBS)
Outstanding Playoff Coverage
NCAA Men’s Basketball...
- 8/12/2020
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
It’s easy to assume that, after four seasons of chronicling life in and around junior college football, the creative team behind Netflix’s documentary series “Last Chance U” would be largely unfazed by the prospect of a new year spent in locker rooms and classrooms. As the team, including series director Greg Whiteley, closed out a half-decade filming action on and off the field, the expertise was definitely there.
But if there were preseason jitters, it was on their side of the camera.
“I actually think we are a lot more nervous than the players are. I’ve entered every single season doing this show, even if we’re at a school where we filmed the year previously, and all the players are pretty much different. I’m filled with a very similar set of anxieties,” Whiteley told IndieWire. “Who are the main players that we’re going to focus on?...
But if there were preseason jitters, it was on their side of the camera.
“I actually think we are a lot more nervous than the players are. I’ve entered every single season doing this show, even if we’re at a school where we filmed the year previously, and all the players are pretty much different. I’m filled with a very similar set of anxieties,” Whiteley told IndieWire. “Who are the main players that we’re going to focus on?...
- 8/5/2020
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Models and the fashion industry are known for being glamorous, beautiful and alluring — with a definite ugly side. Actress and iconic cover girl model Shari Belafonte is partnering with Love Productions USA and Bolo Media to give audiences a look behind the curtain of the industry’s longtime systemic racism.
The docuseries will give a behind-the-scenes look at the industry with other famous Black supermodels, including Beverly Johnson. Black Cat Walking will take a deep dive into the real world of modeling, marketing and merchandising.
Black Cat Walking comes at a pivotal time in the country when there is a reckoning in regard to the unjust treatment of people of color — specifically the Black community. Belfonte first came up with the idea for the docuseries in 2019 while considering projects for her Sowelu Entertainment production banner. Kareem “Biggs” Burke and Wally Eltawashy encouraged her to run with the idea and flesh out episodes. From there, Belafonte and Bolo Media partnered with Joe Labracio and Al Edgington of Love Productions USA for the series.
Belafonte finished the first script for the series while the social landscape was drastically changing with the Black Lives Matter movement in May 2020. With the current call to action for change, Black Cat Walking is a narrative that deserves to be in the spotlight. WME is currently shopping the docuseries with early interest from networks and streamers looking to support Bipoc programs.
Belafonte serves as executive producers alongside Burke and Eltawashy of Bolo Media; and Labracio and Edgington of Love Productions USA.
Love Productions USA is a division of the UK-based Love Productions, which produces The Great British Sewing Bee, The Great Pottery Throw Down and The Great British Bake-Off, which was adapted into The Great American Baking Show. Bolo Media is a television and film company with a multimedia component for digital platforms that focuses on putting the culture front and center.
Belafonte is an award-winning actor, producer, director, singer and writer. As a model, she’s been on the cover of Vogue six times. She recurred on Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and appears Tyler Perry’s BET series Sistas.
The docuseries will give a behind-the-scenes look at the industry with other famous Black supermodels, including Beverly Johnson. Black Cat Walking will take a deep dive into the real world of modeling, marketing and merchandising.
Black Cat Walking comes at a pivotal time in the country when there is a reckoning in regard to the unjust treatment of people of color — specifically the Black community. Belfonte first came up with the idea for the docuseries in 2019 while considering projects for her Sowelu Entertainment production banner. Kareem “Biggs” Burke and Wally Eltawashy encouraged her to run with the idea and flesh out episodes. From there, Belafonte and Bolo Media partnered with Joe Labracio and Al Edgington of Love Productions USA for the series.
Belafonte finished the first script for the series while the social landscape was drastically changing with the Black Lives Matter movement in May 2020. With the current call to action for change, Black Cat Walking is a narrative that deserves to be in the spotlight. WME is currently shopping the docuseries with early interest from networks and streamers looking to support Bipoc programs.
Belafonte serves as executive producers alongside Burke and Eltawashy of Bolo Media; and Labracio and Edgington of Love Productions USA.
Love Productions USA is a division of the UK-based Love Productions, which produces The Great British Sewing Bee, The Great Pottery Throw Down and The Great British Bake-Off, which was adapted into The Great American Baking Show. Bolo Media is a television and film company with a multimedia component for digital platforms that focuses on putting the culture front and center.
Belafonte is an award-winning actor, producer, director, singer and writer. As a model, she’s been on the cover of Vogue six times. She recurred on Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and appears Tyler Perry’s BET series Sistas.
- 7/29/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
In the world of “Last Chance U,” success is a tricky thing to measure. That certainly goes for the main subjects of each passing year, as a new team of junior college football players and coaches try to navigate the specific demands of a fall season, all while being the stars of a Netflix documentary series. Episodes cover the overall wear and tear of the weekly trudge from practice to gameday. In each case, that close examination of the gridiron ins and outs are balanced with a careful look inside the lives of some of the noteworthy players.
For every slow-motion highlight of an acrobatic sideline catch or a stealthy sack, there are a handful of moments tracking that time away from the field. Sparse dorm rooms or campus job work stations or English classrooms become the ongoing counterpoint to the exploits that could net them a chance at college...
For every slow-motion highlight of an acrobatic sideline catch or a stealthy sack, there are a handful of moments tracking that time away from the field. Sparse dorm rooms or campus job work stations or English classrooms become the ongoing counterpoint to the exploits that could net them a chance at college...
- 7/28/2020
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
“Last Chance U” is taking its last crack at junior college (Juco) football this summer, when director Greg Whiteley and his team chronicle the 2019 season of the Laney College Eagles. The popular Netflix docuseries will shift to basketball next year, something Whiteley, the show’s top producer, said was “not really my decision to make.”
“Netflix, of course, who writes the checks — it’s ultimately their decision,” he told TheWrap ahead of the Season 5 premiere.
But, like football or basketball, it was a team effort.
“After Year 4, when we were looking for a new place to go, a lot of us just started thinking maybe there’s other places, even other sports, other subjects that we can try,” he said, referring to the gap between filming a second season at Independence Community College in Kansas and this one in Oakland, Calif. “Because of the success of the show, many of...
“Netflix, of course, who writes the checks — it’s ultimately their decision,” he told TheWrap ahead of the Season 5 premiere.
But, like football or basketball, it was a team effort.
“After Year 4, when we were looking for a new place to go, a lot of us just started thinking maybe there’s other places, even other sports, other subjects that we can try,” he said, referring to the gap between filming a second season at Independence Community College in Kansas and this one in Oakland, Calif. “Because of the success of the show, many of...
- 7/28/2020
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
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