The latest big docuseries announced is Super League: The War For Football, a four-part docuseries on European soccer that will premiere on AppleTV+ on January 13. The series is directed by Jeff Zimbalist, known for The Two Escobars, Momentum Generation, The Line and more, and it’s executive produced by former ESPN exec Connor Schell and produced by former ESPN exec Libby Geist. It focuses on the April 2021 announcement, backlash to, and then quick demise (within days) of the “European Super League.” Here’s a trailer Apple released Wednesday:
And here’s more on the series from a release:
Apple TV+ today revealed new sports documentary series “Super League: The War for Football,” to premiere January 13, 2023. “Super League: The War for Football” is a four-part series that documents the high stakes battle that is set off when plans for a breakaway league emerge and the past, present, and future of European football collide, leaving the game’s most powerful leaders to defend, or upend, the traditions of the sport. With unprecedented access to league Presidents, club owners and the architects behind the European Super League, the docuseries brings fans the yet untold story of how and why this idea was hatched and the battle plans that were formed to fight it.
The series is directed and executive produced by All Rise Films’ News & Documentary Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist (“The Two Escobars,” “The Line,” “Momentum Generation”), and executive produced by Words + Pictures’ Emmy Award-winning Connor Schell (“The Last Dance,” “30 for 30,” and Oscar-winning “O.J. Made in America”).
There are certainly some big names behind this. Zimbalist (with his brother Michael) directed 2010’s The Two Escobars, one of the most renowned 30 for 30s, and they both teamed up for 2018’s Momentum Generation (which won a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Longform Documentary) and Nossa Chape. Since then, some of his notable projects include the series ReMastered, Heist, and The Line.
Meanwhile, Schell and Geist were both key ESPN figures for a decade-plus, including on the 30 for 30 series. And since they left ESPN in late 2020 to start a new production company focusing on documentaries, that company (Words and Pictures) has produced several notable 30 for 30 installments, including The Black Widow, American Son, and Shark. Now, they’re behind this big Apple series on one of the strangest and shortest-lived major sports developments in a while.
And this adds to a long list of sports documentary projects at AppleTV+, from They Call Me Magic through The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball, Greatness Code, Make or Break and more. That also includes upcoming projects Underrated on Steph Curry, Dynasty on the New England Patriots, and an untitled documentary on Lewis Hamilton. We’ll see how this series turns out and how it fits into the AppleTV+ lineup. But it certainly fits with what they’re doing in soccer, including Ted Lasso and their upcoming MLS deal. And it fits with their recent (since 2020) emphasis on sports documentaries as well.
[AppleTV+ on YouTube]
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.