ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The growth of docudrama has become a trend in the sports world in recent years. While the idea isn't exactly new, it has become a bigger trend over the years.
HBO's Hard Knocks has been around for over a decade and there have been previous successful documentaries like Sunderland Till I Die, but more leagues, teams and athletes are now getting involved.
From the successes of Netflix's Drive to Survive and Quarterback docudramas over the last few years, more leagues like the PGA, IndyCar, NASCAR, the ATP and WTA have attempted to create their own docudramas following the trend from the success of Formula One and the NFL's docudramas. Even a then-non England League side owned by two Hollywood actors got a docudrama.
Now the NBA is following the trend too, with Celtics star Jayson Tatum set to be a part of it.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, Netflix is developing a documentary series for the NBA. The participants for the first season will be LeBron James, Domantas Sabonis, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards and Tatum.
The production companies of LeBron James, former President Barack Obama, and Peyton Manning will be the ones to produce the series and according to Charania, it has already begun filming.
There has been no release date announced for the series, but based on the release dates of Quarterback and Drive to Survive, both series were released around three to five months after the season had ended, so potentially expect the series to be released sometime around August and September, since the NBA season will conclude in mid-June.
What fans can expect from the docudrama is likely behind the scenes content detailing what the player is thinking and going through both on and off the field.
Camera access for each player off the field will likely depend on the player. In previous documentaries, athletes like Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins and now-Alphatauri racing driver Daniel Riccardo allowed cameras to get pretty good and deep access of their life outside their respective sports, while others like F1 World Champions Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton did not show any real off-the-track/field access.
With Tatum participating in the docudrama, fans will likely get a chance to learn more about the St. Louis native and four-time All-Star away from the court.