The HBO documentary series ‘Hard Knocks’, an inside look at what goes on behind-the-scenes in an NFL locker room during the season, has been a pretty big commercial success. In 2023, the show averaged 4.4 million viewers per episode, its highest viewership since 2010. Even though the season was considered subpar from a content standpoint, people still watched.
The NFL has a large, devoted fanbase and there’s a sizable group that want to consume every tidbit of content they can. That’s what makes ‘Hard Knocks’ so popular.
Well, now other platforms are trying to capture some of that magic with their own series covering a professional sports team.
On Wednesday, Netflix announced two projects including a documentary offering a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 Boston Red Sox. The streaming service will have a team follow the Red Sox throughout the entirety of the MLB season. Netflix also announced that they will be releasing another documentary about the Red Sox World Series championship in 2004 that broke an 86-year championship drought. That championship run was particularly special due to the numerous iconic moments that came from it.
Not only did those Red Sox become the first team ever to come back from a 3-0 series deficit in the ALCS, but they did it against their division rivals, the New York Yankees. That was the same series that saw Curt Schilling pitch seven innings of one-run ball with a bloody sock.
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The 2004 Red Sox documentary will premiere ‘later this year,’ while the 2024 Red Sox series will premiere in 2025. There has been no word yet on the exact release date.
What to expect from the 2024 Red Sox documentary?
Netflix stated that the docuseries will ‘provide viewers a window into what it takes to compete across a season’s ups and downs in one of the most rabid sports environments.’ Netflix has done incredible work with other sports-based documentary series in the past such as ‘Quarterback’, ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive’, and ‘Full Swing’, all of which received massive praise from sports and non-sports fans alike.
The series will likely lean heavily into the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, and could even attempt to paint the Yankees as a massive supervillain given their acquisition of Juan Soto during the offseason. Although, that is entirely speculation.
What makes the Red Sox so appealing for a docuseries?
The Red Sox are one of the biggest brands in baseball. Fenway Park is one of the most iconic ballparks in America as well. Outside of their history though, the Red Sox are also in a very tough position. While they still have a talented roster, they’ve finished last place in the tough American League East in three of the last four seasons. The trials that come with having a solid team, but failing to reach the postseason because of the teams you have to compete against is already a compelling topic.
The decision to choose the Red Sox only seems odd from the perspective of players to follow. Outside of Rafael Devers as well as maybe Masataka Yoshida, Triston Casas, and Jarren Duran, the Red Sox don’t have any proven, big name, All-Star caliber players. Trevor Story just fought through an injury-riddled 2023 campaign, but wasn’t that great when he came back. Tyler O’Neill is a solid glove, but hasn’t produced since his breakout 2021 season. Kenley Jansen is a potential Hall of Famer, but is past his prime.
Perhaps the hope is that someone will break out or that the characters in the Red Sox locker room will carry the show. Netflix has done a great job at making the most of their subjects in previous sports series. We should expect nothing less from this series.
What do the Red Sox players think of being followed around?
According to Red Sox middle infielder Trevor Story, this was an opportunity the players could not pass up. ‘I’ve enjoyed the behind-the-scenes access in Netflix’s other sports documentaries,’ Story told CBS News. ‘And now we get to give the fans an unparalleled look at the passion, sacrifice, and hard work it takes to be a Major League Baseball player.’
Do sports docu-series affect team performance?
One of the biggest issues fans have with these types of documentaries is that it can wind up being a distraction for the team or individual players. However, these notions tend to be false.
‘Hard Knocks’ specifically chooses NFL teams that haven’t made the playoffs recently to be featured on their show. Is it any shock that only seven of the 18 seasons they’ve filmed have reached the playoffs? It shouldn’t be.
Season 1 of ‘Quarterback’ on Netflix featured three quarterbacks, two of which made the postseason – Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes even wound up winning the Super Bowl that year. Even if ‘Hard Knocks’ has a curse attached to it, it’s clear that Netflix’s documentary crew has no such problems.
When does the Red Sox season start?
The Red Sox kick off the 2024 MLB regular season on March 28 with a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners. Their first home game will not be until April 9 against the Baltimore Orioles.
Spring training starts on Feb. 24.