Multi-part docuseries on individual teams are becoming more and more of a thing. From the 10-part The Last Dance (on the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls) to the 10-part Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers (on that team’s full history), these are starting to be quite prominent. The latest one coming to ESPN will be an eight-part history of the New York Yankees (following the recent seven-part ESPN series on Derek Jeter and last fall’s Yankees-Dodgers: An Uncivil War on those teams’ 1970s rivalry), and it has many big names involved.
Those big names include director Jonathan Hock (known for 30 for 30s The Best That Never Was, Survive And Advance, Of Miracles and Men, Unguarded, The Dominican Dream, plus plenty of other projects) and a long list of executive producers, including J.J. Abrams (Lost, the recent Star Wars and Star Trek movies, much more; seen above presenting the Oscar for Best Director during the 2016 Academy Awards) and former key ESPN executives Connor Schell and Libby Geist. The overall project is executive produced by ESPN Films in association with Major League Baseball. Here’s more from an ESPN release:
ESPN Films today announced “The Yankees Win,” an eight-part documentary event that brings to life the storied history of the most famed franchise in sports. Fifty years after the larger-than-life George Steinbrenner bought the club, his legacy has transformed the mere notion of sports ownership forever. Produced in partnership with Major League Baseball, with extensive access to the league’s unparalleled archives, the series will feature players, managers, coaches, executives, writers, commentators, and fans in candid interviews and some never-before-seen footage.
…The series is directed by Emmy and Peabody winner Jonathan Hock (“Survive and Advance,” ”The Best That Never Was,” “Of Miracles and Men”) and is executive produced by ESPN Films in association with Major League Baseball. The project is being produced by Words + Pictures, Hock Films, Bad Robot and Zipper Bros Films. JJ Abrams, Rachel Rusch Rich, Glen Zipper, Connor Schell, Libby Geist, Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern and Nick Trotta and Sean Stuart will serve as Executive Producers.
There’s no date announced for the project yet. But for those looking for more Yankees‘ content in particular, beyond the aforementioned projects and Prime Video’s forthcoming Reggie (on Reggie Jackson), this will be one to keep an eye on.
[ESPN Press Room; photo from Robert Deutsch/USA Today Network]
