Religion of Sports, the media brand founded by Gotham Chopra, Tom Brady and Michael Strahan, has been signaling an intention to expand beyond just sports for some time. And they’ve just done so in a notable way. On Monday, Hulu and ROS announced that Hulu has acquired Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, and that it will premiere on that service in April. The Chopra-directed project here is a four-part docuseries, the first-ever “with full cooperation from all past and present members of Bon Jovi,” and it’s ROS’ first docuseries beyond sports. Here’s more on it from a release:
Hulu today announced its acquisition of “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” the first-ever docu-series on the band’s history with full cooperation from all past and present members of Bon Jovi. The docu-series is a ROS production, the banner of filmmaker Gotham Chopra.
The four-part, all-access series chronicling four decades of the iconic rock band Bon Jovi premieres Friday, April 26, on Hulu in the U.S., and coming soon to Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories. Following one of the world’s most iconic bands and its frontman, Jon Bon Jovi, the documentary gives us a view behind the music and the man.
As thrilling as the story of a once-in-a-lifetime talent is, it is even more rare that a legend like Jon Bon Jovi lets the world into his most vulnerable moments while he’s still living them. Forty years of personal videos, unreleased early demos, original lyrics and never-before-seen photos that chronicle the journey from Jersey Shore clubs to the biggest stages on the planet. The series relives the triumphs and setbacks, greatest hits, biggest disappointments and most public moments of friction.
“Thank you, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” is directed and executive produced by multiple Emmy® Award winner Gotham Chopra (“Kobe Bryant’s Muse,” “Man in the Arena,” “Tom vs. Time”). The film is also executive produced by Giselle Parets and Ameeth Sankaran for ROS, and it is produced and edited by Alex Trudeau Viriato, who played a critical, creative role in shaping the series.
Religion of Sports is no stranger to multi-part docuseries, including the aforementioned Man in the Arena and Tom vs. Time with Brady, plus In The Arena: Serena Williams, McGregor Forever, Simone Vs. Herself, Stephen Vs. The Game, and more. It will be interesting to see how they approach a music series, and especially one with participation from all the past and present members of Bon Jovi (including Richie Sambora, the band’s lead guitarist from 1983-2013, who recently spoke about how this documentary was increasing his interest in a potential reunion).
ROS has delved into pop culture in several areas in the past, and indicated desires to do more there. And it’s notable to see them now doing this with a full four-part series. This one will be worth keeping an eye on for Bon Jovi fans, and for those interested to see how ROS takes their approach beyond sports.
