Earlier in the month when UNC released an episode of a behind-the-scenes look of the football team on YouTube, it appeared the much talked about documentary the Tar Heels would make was going to be available for free.
It turns out, it was just to whet the appetite.
On Sunday, with about a week left before they take the field for the first time, Carolina Football put out a video post on Twitter/X. In it, Coach Bill Belichick stood in front of his team and announced that the documentary series would,
in fact, be released on Hulu.
Front Office Sports was the first to report the news last month that the series, which was originally pitched as the first collegiate version of “Hard Knocks,” was headed for the Disney-owned streaming service. What the delay was between that report and Sunday’s announcement is unknown.
There was of course some snark in the media from the announcement, as some couldn’t comprehend that there would be interest in a show about one of the best NFL coaches going to lead a college team. While Belichick’s personal life probably didn’t hurt in trying to get the series sold, it seems that one of the big sticking points of the series not going to “Hard Knocks” was the lack of control Belichick and UNC would have. While “Hard Knocks” treats its subjects well all things considered, they are still ultimately the ones who decide what ends up on the series and what doesn’t. It’s clear now that Belichick’s group will be more in control of the narrative here, so while the intrigue will be there, it still remains to be seen just how hard hitting it will be. As they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
It’ll be interesting also to see if the documentary eventually ends up on ESPN or Disney+ in some form or fashion. Disney announced earlier this month that they plan to get rid of the stand-alone version of the Hulu app and integrate it into Disney+ next year. With ESPN also launching their service direct to customers, it’s possible that the series will eventually be accessible on there as well. They are all under one big corporate umbrella, and ESPN has a lot of space to fill on their networks during times when games aren’t being shown.
Either way, Carolina only got a basic ACC Network treatment when they had a top-three pick in the NFL Draft at quarterback. This was with a coach who had worked with ESPN previously, so it once again shows just how UNC is apparently getting what they want in the hiring of Belichick. The fact that a series like this, where it’s clear that the school and Belichick will have total control, can still be sold speaks to the magnitude that the Belichick name holds.
As the post noted, further details about when the series will premier will come out later. Even with a situation where things are so tightly controlled, depending on how the first few weeks go it still has the potential to be a fascinating watch.
