NBC Sports’ latest documentary will premiere Saturday, and it sounds like an interesting one. The documentary is Courageous, on former Atlanta Braves’ owner and media mogul Ted Turner’s quest to win the 1977 America’s Cup in the boat of the same name, and renowned actor Michael Douglas will be narrating it. Courageous will make its debut at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Saturday on NBC, right after the network’s coverage of races one and two in this year’s America’s Cup. Here are more details from the release:
Courageous, named for the boat that Turner captained, examines his journey to win and defend the America’s Cup, and explores his tireless pursuit throughout the decade to build the iconic Turner media and sports empire which included CNN, TBS, the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, and Goodwill Games.
While suspended from running the Braves and working through the infancy and challenges of early cable television with his SuperStation, Turner became fixated with winning the 1977 America’s Cup. The unconventional pioneer bet his reputation and image on the victory, and saw glory in a 4-year-old boat and a crew that others had written off.
Courageous features interviews with Turner, his America’s Cup crew members, and sailing historians. Additionally the film includes archival footage from the 1977 America’s Cup and Turner’s multifaceted career, an interview with Braves legend and current Atlanta Braves Senior Vice President Hank Aaron, as well as never before seen footage and interviews.
This sounds like it might be worth checking out, as Turner’s certainly a fascinating figure, and the idea of the owner of the Braves and TBS winning a famed sporting competition is quite something in its own right. This follows a few other films NBC has done, including 2016’s More Than Gold: Jesse Owens and the 1936 Berlin Olympics, 2015’s Center of Attention: The Unreal Life of Derek Sanderson, and Lokomotiv, Space Race, and Nancy & Tonya during the 2014 Olympics. We’ll see how this one stacks up.
[NBC Sports Group Pressbox; photo from Sail World]
