Fans of sports documentaries and docuseries will soon have another option vying for their interest. But those wanting to watch might have to sign up for yet another streaming service.
Apple TV+ has greenlit Greatness Code, billed as “a landmark, short-form unscripted series that spotlights untold stories from the greatest athletes in the world.” The first season (hinting that there may be more) will have seven episodes, each of which will spotlight an athlete and a pivotal moment in his or her career.
Among the athletes included will be LeBron James, Tom Brady, Alex Morgan, Usain Bolt, Katie Ledecky, Shaun White, and Kelly Slater.
Debuting on July 10, Greatness Code is a joint production between Religion of Sports, the sports media venture founded by Brady, filmmaker Gotham Chopra, and Michael Strahan; and Uninterrupted, the athlete-branded media company created by LeBron James, Maverick Carter, and their SpringHill Entertainment production house.
Chopra will direct the series, continuing his involvement in athlete-driven sports documentaries such as Brady’s Facebook Watch series Tom vs. Time and the upcoming Unseen Football, a big-screen 3D documentary featuring Brady and produced by Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo.
How long each episode of Greatness Code will be hasn’t been announced, but reports have emphasized that these will be “short-form” and “mini” episodes. Will they be as brief as the 10-minutes-or-less installments currently offered by Quibi? Perhaps, but a good guess is that these documentaries will clock in at 30 minutes or less.
(Quibi’s slate includes sports docs like Blackballed, about the scandal surrounding former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, and the upcoming Sign Language, chronicling the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.)
This will be the first jump into the sports documentary space for the relatively new Apple TV+ streaming service. But the platform has already featured unscripted films along with its crop of TV series and movies, including Beastie Boys Story.
Greatness Code will premiere July 10, exclusively on Apple TV+.
[TheWrap]
About Ian Casselberry
Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.