Ross Greenburg is returning to produce the behind-the-scenes series “Epix Presents Road to the NHL Outdoor Classics.”
The four-episode series will have its premiere on Epix at 10 p.m. ET/PT Dec. 16. Each episode also will be streamed to Epix.com, NHL.com and the sites of the four NHL teams that the series follows: the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, who face off New Year’s Day; and the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, who play an outdoor game the following day.
For the third consecutive year, Epix sold the series to Rogers in Canada. Unlike previous years, Rogers will rename the series for Canada, calling it “All Access: The NHL Outdoor Winter Classics.”
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Greenburg takes pride in the unscripted nature of the “Road to” series.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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“We have to put two different animations together and retitle it for Canada,” Greenburg said.
The series offers behind-the-scenes views of the teams’ preparation for the outdoor games. What makes this year’s series unique is its focus on four teams rather than the usual two.
“The fact that we have four teams will allow us to pick up the pace a bit and take you from city to city,” Greenburg said.
Each 60-minute episode will focus on one game a week per team. Producers plan to follow at least two players off the ice every week.
“We’ll take the stories as they come to us,” Greenburg said. “That’s something that we take great pride in. These aren’t scripted. The script develops as you go along. As Steve Sabol used to say — as we got out of that first press conference for ‘Hard Knocks’ — it’s like building a plane in midflight.”
Greenburg is the godfather of these types of shows. He created “Hard Knocks” at HBO in 2001, which set the template for other sports reality shows that have become an integral part of the sports TV landscape.
“These shows are usually at their best when you have to go in and reinvent yourself,” Greenburg said.
Greenburg recalled the first NHL series in the lead-up to the Winter Classic, which followed the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins before their outdoor game at Heinz Field in 2011.
“Ted Leonsis and I are very close,” Greenburg said. “That year, the Capitals went into a wicked losing streak. Ted would call me up and say, ‘Why is everything so dark when you come to our team?’ I said, ‘Ted, it’s not dark. It’s just your perception because you’re having this difficulty on the ice.’ It increased the drama, but it also created a headache because the teams look around and don’t want to be watched minute-to-minute while going through a losing streak.
“Hopefully, these four teams will see a little bit of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat without the agony of defeat taking over.”
John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.
