Almost exactly a year ago, we wrote about Turner’s planned four-night Inside the NBA documentary “The Inside Story”, which at that point was set to premiere in May of 2020.
The planned four-night series never came out, though, for an obvious reason: there was no NBA in May of 2020, so the planned timing to coincide with the playoffs clearly didn’t work out. (Instead, a different NBA documentary series was bumped up to spring.)
Then ‘The Inside Story’ didn’t air late in the summer along with the NBA bubble, either; again, that made sense, considering the lack of oxygen available throughout that hectic time in sports (and other news). Now, Turner announced a new premiere: Thursday, March 4th, with episodes airing nightly through the conclusion on Sunday, March 7th.
Via Turner’s release:
Inside the NBA – the Sports Emmy Award-winning studio show known for its entertaining style and unfiltered commentary – pulls back the curtain on its more than 30-year history with “The Inside Story,” a four-part documentary series airing on consecutive nights Thursday, March 4, through Sunday, March 7, on TNT. The first episode will air immediately following NBA on TNT’s coverage of the Miami Heat vs. New Orleans Pelicans matchup. (see below for full schedule).
Produced by Turner Sports, the documentary takes viewers on a journey that started in 1989 and illuminates its evolution into a cultural phenomenon. Each hour-long episode reveals untold stories that highlight the chemistry between the four personalities – Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal – while also exploring their uncanny ability to continuously entertain and inform viewers. The documentary series also demonstrates how the show’s common thread of togetherness has helped them survive some of the toughest times.
The original trailer is still available on YouTube (and is embedded below) and Turner also released a new trailer today, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXSaF_WwytI&t=1s&ab_channel=NBAonTNT
Inside the NBA is certainly worthy of the docuseries treatment. We wrote this last year when the news originally broke:
TNT’s Inside the NBA has been on the air since 1989, and over the last few decades especially it’s become some of the most consistently entertaining sports television.
That’s thanks mostly to the chemistry between host Ernie Johnson and panelists Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaq.The show offers both unfiltered analysis and, moreover, a willingness to not take anything too seriously, especially themselves.
That’s certainly still true, and for fans and appreciators of the show, the documentary probably qualifies as must-watch.
