If network executives could pick a single NFL team to build a television show around, they would likely choose the Dallas Cowboys without much hesitation. The Cowboys are a good team with a proud history and a massive fanbase. Plus, it’s led by an owner, Jerry Jones, who isn’t afraid to ham it up for the camera and rarely shies away from controversy.
As we have been reminded over the past few seasons, the Cowboys drive ratings like no one else.
So with that in mind, Amazon must be pretty psyched to announce Dallas as the focus for the third season of its All or Nothing docu-series, which will debut April 27, again narrated by actor Jon Hamm.
https://twitter.com/allornothingtv/status/969211024208359425
All or Nothing cameras followed the Cowboys throughout the 2017 season, in which the team missed the playoffs with a disappointing 9-7 record and was embroiled in a huge amount of off-field drama. It will be fascinating to see how Amazon covers the controversial Ezekiel Elliott suspension, Jones’ position on player protests during the national anthem and the owner’s simmering feud with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, which culminated in Jones attempting to block Goodell’s contract extension.
Given that NFL Films is a partner on All or Nothing, it seems likely that the show will go easy on the commissioner, but we won’t know for sure until this summer.
“We are excited to announce that the third season of All or Nothing will feature the Dallas Cowboys. One of the best known and most captivating teams in the NFL, the Cowboys have a rabid fan base,” Amazon executive Heather Schuster said in a release. “This season will once again provide Prime members with incredible access, compelling drama and plenty of football action to entertain fans until next season.”
The first two seasons of All or Nothing featured the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams, respectively, and although those teams didn’t offer quite as much intrigue as the Cowboys, the show has received generally positive reviews. In 2017, it won a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Serialized Sports Documentary. As our own Adam Patrick wrote last year in reviewing Season Two…
As usual, NFL Films does a great job in highlighting specific details about a team’s players and coaching staff that are mostly unknown to the common football fan. These aspects of the show are really what holds it together since watching a team lose 12 out of 16 games is not what one would call “entertaining.”
All or Nothing is part of a the recent boom in behind-the-scenes sports documentary series, which began with HBO’s Hard Knocks and has continued with Netflix’s Last Chance U, Showtime’s A Season With, Amazon’s yet-unnamed Michigan football show and more.
About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.