Bishop Sycamore documentary ‘BS High’ slated for HBO premiere Aug. 23

BS High, the Bishop Sycamore scandal documentary produced by Adam McKay and Michael Strahan, is set to premiere on HBO and Max on August 23, according to TV Guide.

The timing of the documentary’s public release comes almost two years to the day after the infamous 58-0 game between IMG Academy and Bishop Sycamore that kicked off public interest in the “school” and the football coach at the center of the scandal, Roy Johnson.

Awful Announcing published dozens of investigative articles on the Bishop Sycamore scandal and its fallout.

“In the days after the game, Bishop Sycamore lost the remainder of its 2021 season to cancellation and Roy Johnson was fired as head coach (though he remains a key figure within the program, and in the litigation over it),” wrote Awful Announcing’s Andy Downing and Ben Koo in a one-year-later retrospective. “Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine also issued a statement saying that he had asked the Ohio Department of Education to conduct an investigation into Bishop Sycamore “to ensure compliance with Ohio law and to ensure the school is providing the educational opportunities Ohio students deserve.” Released in December, the report concluded that, as a non-chartered, non-tax-supported school, Bishop Sycamore was subject to less stringent standards, but investigators could not find evidence that the school had met even minimum academic requirements.”

It was revealed in December 2021 that Johnson was compensated for his participation in the documentary by SMAC Entertainment, though there’s no information on what he received financially or if he was promised any kind of creative control. In August 2022, it was revealed that Johnson had been accused of defaulting on a $120,000 loan and the bank asked a judge to block his ability to receive any payment from SMAC until his debts were cleared.

“He was not paid for participating in the documentary,” a SMAC spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter in August 2022.

Johnson attended the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of the documentary, which is directed by Traven Free and Martin Desmond Roe, in June. He was overheard to have yelled “Ouch” when he was described as “untrustworthy” in the film.

The HBO Bishop Sycamore documentary debuted at Tribeca last night.

This is Coach Roy Johnson attending with one of two bodyguards he brought for some reason standing by him.

During the Q&A he made his presence known by yelling "Ouch" when he was referred to as untrustworthy. pic.twitter.com/g1h1T6o6YB

— Ben Koo (@bkoo) June 15, 2023

“Everything will come out in the documentary,” Johnson told the New York Times in Dec. 2021. “Different people’s perspectives.”

We haven’t seen a trailer for the documentary yet but HBO did post a behind-the-scenes clip of Johnson being interviewed last year.

[TV Guide]