Urban Meyer in an interview for Netflix's "Untold: Swamp Kings." Urban Meyer in an interview for Netflix’s “Untold: Swamp Kings.” (Netflix.)
NetflixBy Andrew Bucholtz on

We now know when Netflix’s next volume of Untold documentaries will be released, and just what will be included. Netflix sent out a release Thursday confirming the previously-leaked Untold: Swamp Kings (on the Tim Tebow-Urban Meyer era Florida Gators), indicating that it will have four 45-minute episodes, and moving its premiere date to August 22 (from the previously-leaked date of Aug. 23). Their release also confirmed three other Untold: Vol. 3 installments: Jake Paul The Problem Child (Aug. 1), Johnny Football (Aug. 8, on Johnny Manziel), and Hall of Shame (Aug. 15, on BALCO steroid scandal figure Victor Conte). Several of those figures tweeted about the announcements Thursday:

Here are descriptions of each of the installments from Netflix’s release:

UNTOLD: Jake Paul the Problem Child

Premieres August 1, 2023

Directed by Andrew Renzi (Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?)

Format: Film, 70 min

At 26, is Jake Paul the boxing world’s new savior or a “delusional” promoter who packs more punch in his marketing skills than in his right hand? It depends on whom you ask in UNTOLD: Jake Paul the Problem Child, an unflinching deep dive into how a wide-eyed kid from Ohio morphed from Internet sensation to most polarizing man in sports. For every high-profile critic (UFC president Dana White), there’s another supporter in his corner (former professional boxer Mike Tyson). In 2013, Jake and his older brother, Logan, lit up social media with pranks and antics posted first to Vine and then a YouTube channel that racked up millions of views. The brothers parlayed their online success into lucrative side hustles, with Jake releasing music and landing a role on a Disney Channel show (Bizaardvark). As their notoriety grew, so did tensions between the once-close siblings. When Jake’s real-life controversies nearly ruined his career, he got a second chance as a boxer who shocked skeptics as he knocked out one opponent after another. Built on gripping interviews with the Paul brothers – along with their parents, fans, fellow boxers, and the skeptical old guard – the film culminates with a nail-biting match that will prove if Jake has what it takes to rule his new kingdom.

UNTOLD: Johnny Football

Premieres August 8, 2023

Directed by Ryan Duffy (Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist)

Format: Film, 70 min

In 2012, the brightest star in all of sports was an undersized freshman quarterback at unheralded Texas A&M, whose fervor on the field was rivaled only by his hard-partying ways off it. Dubbed “Johnny Football,” the magnetic football player captured the nation’s attention and initially relished his alter ego: “I wanted to be Johnny Football. Johnny Football never had a bad time,” he says. But as the money rolled in, the scrutiny heightened, and Manziel rejected his newfound fame and suddenly lost his way. With astonishing candor, Manziel – along with his family, coaches, his former best friend, and his agent – details what happened behind the scenes as scandals piled up in the glare of paparazzi flashbulbs. He fumbled his shot at NFL success after the Cleveland Browns picked him in the first round of the NFL draft in 2014, but Manziel went on to search for something even greater: inner peace and happiness with a quieter life that he reveals here.

UNTOLD: Hall of Shame

Premieres August 15, 2023

Directed by Bryan Storkel (The Legend of Cocaine Island, The Pez Outlaw)

Format: Film, 75 min

Victor Conte’s name is synonymous with the biggest doping scandal ever to rock the sports community, ensnaring top athletes such as baseball great Barry Bonds and track-and-field legends Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery. For 16 years, Conte swears BALCO Laboratories, his supplement and nutrition company based in the Bay Area, never dabbled in illegal, performance-enhancing drugs. But by 2000, he went to the dark side and became the go-to guy for athletes in search of steroids, fame, and world records. The film features interviews with several of Conte’s notable former associates – including Montgomery and the anti-doping and IRS authorities who helped send him to prison after a 42-count indictment – give harrowing testimony as the legend of one of sports’ most notorious names continues to unfold.

UNTOLD: Swamp Kings

All four episodes premiere August 22, 2023

Directed by Katharine English (First Ladies, Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution)

Format: 4 episodes x 45 min

College football is life in Florida, nowhere more apparent than in the extraordinary story of the Florida Gators from 2005 to 2010. After a blazing run in the 1990s under Coach Steve Spurrier, the University of Florida’s winning streak had dried up by 2005. Enter Urban Meyer, the Gators’ demanding new head coach whose take-no-prisoners style breeds not only a string of legendary victories, but also unrelenting drama that rippled well beyond the locker room. In their own words through extensive sit-down interviews paired with archival footage, Meyer and the titans he coached (Brandon Siler, Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes, Major Wright, and Ahmad Black, among many others) give viewers a bird’s-eye view of how they catapulted the Florida Gators from underdogs to winners of two BCS National Championships. Drilling down with a riveting play-by-play of some of the Gators’ most blistering wins and losses, this four-episode docuseries zooms in on each turbulent year of Meyer’s reign and isn’t afraid to tackle the challenging sides of his leadership and the perils of his players being star athletes at such a young age.

There are certainly plenty of notable-but-controversial subjects here, ones that should certainly attract audiences. And it will be interesting to see how much these documentaries explore viewpoints critical of some of the central figures; there certainly are potential critics listed as interviewees in each, and we’ll see how much time they get and how their comments are portrayed. (It’s also interesting that the Swamp Kings description does not mention Aaron Hernandez, who you’d think would get some attention here: he played at Florida from 2007-2009. There is another FX series coming on Hernandez, but that’s still a long ways off.)

At any rate, there’s definitely going to be a lot of interest in these documentaries when they come out in August. And that’s perhaps especially true with Swamp Kings, which has been generating buzz since Paul Finebaum hinted at its existence last fall. That Gators team had a lot of fascinating characters (including Meyer, seen at top) and remarkable success. And the release date here is perfect for those looking for college football content ahead of this year’s season.

Jake Paul the Problem Child, Johnny Football, and Hall of Shame are produced by Propagate and Stardust Frames Productions, while Swamp Kings is produced by RAW in association with Propagate, The Players’ Tribune and Stardust Frames. Executive producers are Chapman Way, Maclain Way; Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, and Isabel San Vargas for Propagate; Ryan Duffy; Doug Banker, Mike Seander; Louise Norman and Tom Sheahan for RAW. Untold was developed as a documentary series by Chapman and Maclain Way.

[Photo supplied by Netflix]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

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