ESPN ARE FOLLOWING the major success of The Last Dance by ordering another multi-part docuseries on an American sporting icon – Tom Brady.
The Last Dance, a 10-part series on Michael Jordan and the 1997/98 Chicago Bulls, has been a major success for ESPN, becoming the most-watched documentary in their history.
The broadcaster are now bidding to repeat the trick with Brady, and have ordered a nine-part series about his career set to be broadcast in 2021.
It is titled “Man in the Arena”, a reference to a speech delivered by former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt in Paris in 1910, widely hailed as paean to persistence and a rebuke to defeatism and cynicism. It was painted on the wall at Brady’s college, and he says the speech ” is a constant reminder to ignore the noise, buckle my chinstrap, and battle through whatever comes my way.”
The docuseries is co-produced by ESPN and Brady’s company 199 Productions, meaning he will have significant editorial input to the project, a la Jordan in the Last Dance.
Unlike Jordan, Brady is yet to retire: he has signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after 19 astonishing years with the New England Patriots, with whom he made nine Superbowl appearances, winning a record six times.
His career has not been untainted by controversy, and in 2016 he was suspended for four games as a result of the Deflategate saga, in which he was alleged to have ordered the deflating of footballs in a 2014 AFC Championship game against Indianapolis.
ESPN say the series “should be a rare opportunity for revelations from the usually private quarterback.”
“Through the series, we’re defining the key moments and challenges that were seemingly insurmountable, but through hard work and perseverance, became career-defining triumphs, in both victory and defeat” says Brady.
“This compelling and powerful show will entertain, inspire, and have you on the edge of your seat. We can’t wait to share it with the world.”
I have quoted Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech since I saw it painted on our weight room wall at UM in 1995. It’s a constant reminder to ignore the noise, buckle my chinstrap, and battle through whatever comes my way.
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 21, 2020
Coming 2021 on @espn! pic.twitter.com/nm9SdFYB7D
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