ESPN announces multi-part ‘Gracie’ docuseries

On Thursday, ESPN announced a new docuseries on the legendary Gracie fighting family.

Titled Gracie, the multi-part series is directed by Chris Fuller and produced by Solaris Entertainment.

Here’s more from ESPN’s release.

Told through the eyes of key Gracie family members, the series will dive deep into an epic family saga that takes audiences from Scotland and Japan, to Brazil and America.

Mixed Martial Arts has experienced a global explosion in recent years, replacing boxing as the dominant combat sport and rapidly ascending to have one of the largest audiences in the world. At the core of this popular revolution is the art of Jiu-Jitsu and the “first family” of fighting: the Gracies.

Featuring larger-than-life personalities, triumphs and tragedies, deep loyalties, passionate loves and deadly feuds, “Gracie” will explore the essence of family, honor, legacy, and humanity’s innate desire to fight.

Take this for whatever it’s worth, but there’s already an IMDB page for Gracie which lists several people featured in the film. Those include Mel Gibson, Joe Rogan, Matt Serra, Din Thomas, and a litany of Gracie family members (including Royce, seen at top in 2016, who is a UFC Hall of Famer and combat sports icon).

There has been a lot of mythology about the Gracie family going back more than 30 years now, and a multi-part docuseries like this one could do a lot in clearing up the facts from fiction. On the other hand, it could further elevate the family’s mythic status in the combat sports landscape.

Over the years, ESPN has released several combat sports documentaries, though MMA hasn’t been a frequent topic. The Chuck & Tito 30 for 30, released back in 2019, is the only full-length MMA 30 for 30. But there was a 30 for 30 podcast about the founding of the UFC (No Rules: The Birth of UFC).

A release date has not been announced.

[ESPN]