AMC Networks is getting into the sports documentary game.
The company has ordered a four-part docuseries looking back at the San Francisco 49ers’ dynastic run in the NFL of the 1980s and ‘90s. Titled Gold Rush, the series comes from AMC Studios and Skydance Sports and counts Tom Brady among its executive producers. NFL Films, Religion of Sports and Brady’s 199 Productions are also involved.
“This is a docuseries that has the stakes, storylines and scale to stand alongside our scripted dramas in the best way possible,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “What an opportunity to bring these remarkable championship seasons back to life in a way that could only be possible with this dream team of producing partners. We’ve seen some incredibly entertaining and authoritative sports documentaries in recent years, and we will do that proud history justice with a series worthy of this team, this city, these unforgettable personalities and one of football’s most storied dynasties.”
Gold Rush will feature interviews with key players — both on and off the field — from the Niners’ glory years, including Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young and former team owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. It will also include previously unseen footage from NFL Films and explore how the team’s run of five Super Bowl wins in 15 years both changed the NFL game and galvanized the Bay Area, which was undergoing huge changes.
Brady, who grew up in the Bay Area as a huge 49ers fan, will also appear on camera.
“The 49ers Dynasty changed everything,” said Ken Rodgers, NFL Films executive producer. “In between the Super Bowl victories by Green Bay and Pittsburgh in the ’60’s and ’70s, and the high-flying victories by the Cowboys and Patriots in the ’90s and 2000’s, the NFL was changed forever by San Francisco’s performance on the field and their approach to the sport off the field. Thanks to our partners at AMC, Skydance Sports and Religion of Sports, we finally get to tell the story of the dynasty that created the modern NFL.”
Added Religion of Sports co-founder Gotham Chopra, “The ‘80s 49ers are the flashpoint for the NFL as we know it today. The coaching brilliance, the superstar players, the corporate ambition and cunningness — that’s pretty much every team in the modern NFL and corporate America at large. This is a cultural allegory bigger than football and there are no better partners than AMC, Skydance, NFL Films and my friend Ken Rodgers to tell it with.”
Chopra and Rodgers will direct Gold Rush. Ryan Kelly and Nick Mascolo are the showrunners and executive produce with Jesse Sisgold, Jason Reed and Jon Weinbach of Skydance Sports; Ross Ketover, Keith Cossrow, Rodgers and Jessica Boddy of NFL Films; and Chopra, Brady and Ameeth Sankaran for Religion of Sports.