Hey, do you like the New England Patriots? Actually, scratch that – do you love the New England Patriots? If so, Apple TV+ has ordered a docuseries that’s right up your alley.
On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter reported that a ten-part (yes, ten-part) docuseries on the Patriots dynasty had been ordered by Apple TV+, based on Jeff Benedict’s book The Dynasty. Of note: NFL Films is involved in the project, which will make heavy use of archival footage and new interviews. Additionally, Apple’s cameras was embedded with the Patriots this past season, which I don’t believe had been announced anywhere.
Here’s more from the THR report.
The streamer has ordered The Dynasty, which will chronicle the team’s past two decades and the era defined by coach Bill Belichick, quarterback Tom Brady and owner Robert Kraft. The series from Imagine Documentaries and NFL Films is based on Jeff Benedict’s best-selling book of the same name. Matthew Hamachek (HBO’s Tiger, also based on a book co-written by Benedict) will direct.
Benedict spent two years with the Patriots in writing his book, which was published in 2020. The filmmakers behind the Apple series also had access to the team during the 2021 season, the second after Brady left the Pats for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Dynasty will also draw on previously unseen video footage and audio recordings from the team’s archive, and the filmmaking team is conducting “hundreds” of interviews with current and former Patriots players, coaches and executives, per Apple TV+.
No release date has been announced. Earlier this month, Apple TV+ also announced a four-part Magic Johnson docuseries, premiering in April.
I personally have zero interest in this (unless there are segments about the Patriots’ playoff losses in the 2009 and 2012 seasons), but I’m sure there will be a significant audience for it given the franchise’s greatness over the last two decades. While I’m hesitant to break out the comparison to The Last Dance (because *every* multi-part docuseries has been compared to The Last Dance over the last two years), there are similarities, including a clear endpoint to the era in question and (naturally) the ten-part format. I’m curious how deep this will go on some of the more controversial (to say the least) topics surrounding the Patriots over the last 20 years, including Spygate, Deflategate, and the Aaron Hernandez saga, and while Patriots fans probably don’t want to relive any of those stories, the series would be incomplete without shining a light on them.
Anyway, this is a nice get for Apple. While it’s a strain on the customer’s wallet, more streamers means more content and more competition, which leads to more docs like this getting the green light. We’re never going to complain about that.
[THR]
