Audible, in conjunction with Joy Road Entertainment, announced today the launch of The League an eight-episode docuseries about the most inspirational and unbelievable stories connected to America’s favorite sport. Narrated by Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football Analyst and 5-time NFL Pro Bowler Richard Sherman and Thursday Night Football Features Reporter Taylor Rooks, the eight-part series is equal parts history, entertainment, and social commentary.
All eight episodes of the series drop Thursday, December 1, spanning the league’s early days to the present, and feature exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in football and culture including Jared Allen, Chris Berman, James Carville, Ryan Clark, Carl Eller, Jay Glazer, Mel Kiper, Willie Lanier, Mercury Morris, Brent Musberger, Terrell Owens, RZA, Jonathan Vilma, Lesley Visser, Randy White, and Andrew Whitworth.
To help promote the series’ launch, a special promo ad for the podcast will run during Prime Video’s exclusive coverage of Thursday Night Football in December. The League is part of the “Call An Audible” initiative, marking Audible’s expansion and commitment to sports-related storytelling that supports Prime Video’s historic inaugural season as the exclusive viewing destination for Thursday Night Football.
Episode Synopses:
THE WEI OF THE COWBOY — In 1977, the Dallas Cowboys brought in Bruce Lee protege, Dan Inosanto, to teach their defense martial arts, paving the way for a championship season for America’s Team and ushering in a new approach in the way the rest of the league trained.
MORE THAN A JERSEY — When Tom Brady’s jersey went missing in the wake of the Patriots epic comeback victory in Super Bowl LI, it triggered one of the most furious investigations in recent history. Beneath the investigation’s many plot-twists that eventually would locate the jersey and the culprit, a little-known fact was revealed — the stolen jersey was classified as a “work of art” by the F.B.I.
THE REVOLUTION WAS TELEVISED — No professional sports league in the world is more inextricably linked to television than NFL football. This episode tells the story of how the NFL changed sports forever with its foray into primetime television with its signature program, Monday Night Football, and how it is changing the game again with its new entry into the world of streaming on Thursday nights.
THE BLACK SIX — Imagine if six of the best players in the NFL today teamed up in the offseason to film a Hollywood blockbuster. Well, the truth is it once happened when, in 1972, Hollywood produced “The Black Six.” The film starred six of the most accomplished and visible players in the league at that time and marked the first time Hollywood had ever invested in a movie built entirely around a cast of NFL stars… and it would also be the last.
CROSS WHEN THEY SAY DON’T WALK — Long before the ground-breaking legislation of Title IX and the powerful marches on Washington, there were young women with dreams from all over the country who had the love of sports, the talent to write, and the ambition to pave a trail that would change the relationship between sports-journalism, gender, and football forever.
DRAFT, INC. — The NFL Draft has become the league’s third biggest attraction, right behind the Super Bowl and opening week. Given the spectacle and draw of the event, it’s hard to believe that the draft was an afterthought for league officials for almost fifty years. That changed in early 1980, when a small cable company, just months old and with no budget, decided to broadcast the event from their offices in Bristol, Connecticut.
GIRLS LOVE FOOTBALL — There was once a time in the league’s history when the NFL was referred to as the “No Female League.” Those days are long gone. Today’s NFL has six female owners, more than any of the other major professional leagues combined. The NFL has also seen an explosion of female leadership from the boardroom to the sidelines, beginning with Susan Tose Spencer, the first female General Manager in football. With “Girls Love Football,” we’ll get to meet some of the dynamic women who are the real muscle behind the league.
THE PROS PLAY ON SUNDAY — On Saturdays and Sundays in bars and barber shops across the U.S., you might come across the start of an age-old debate — “What would happen if the best college team squared off against the worst pro team?” We polled some of football’s brightest minds, including former players, front office execs, a football analytics guru, sports handicappers, and even an Ivy League professor to get the answer.