Showtime yesterday announced an upcoming series, "A Season with Notre Dame Football," which is "set to premiere" Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 10:00pm ET following the team's season-opener against Texas, according to Tyler James of the SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE. The show "will continue with 11 more 30-minute episodes throughout the season." The Notre Dame men's basketball team "was featured in a Showtime documentary, HOOPS U, in March." The cameras "followed the Irish through the final months of the regular season and into the ACC Tournament" (SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, 8/12). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Michael O'Connell noted episodes "will feature preparation for the previous Saturday's games, sidelines and game day footage and glimpses into the athletes' personal lives" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 8/11). BLEACHER REPORT's Ben Kercheval wrote access in college football "is tricky these days." Unlike the NFL, there is no "uniform way for local and national reporters to have access to practices, players and coaches." Many programs, in fact, "have invested heavily in in-house access to provide stories and content." As a result, what fans see "is a limited version of what actually happens in practice, let alone how an entire program is operated." But a "'Hard Knocks'-esque show for college football breaks the mold." It probably "won't be a complete peeling back of the proverbial curtain, but it will lift it enough to give outsiders a refreshing view on major college football: the position battles, the injuries, the decision-making, life as a student-athlete." If the show is successful, "don't be surprised if other big-name programs line up to do something similar." Notre Dame "is the test subject, but Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State or even Washington State could always be next" because all of those programs "have compelling head coaches and/or star players that even fair-weather college football fans know" (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 8/11).
CRUZ CONTROL: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's O'Connell noted Showtime also "announced a doc" about Giants WR Victor Cruz. "I Am Giant: Victor Cruz," created in conjunction with Cavaliers F LeBron James' and business partner Maverick Carter's SpringHill Entertainment, will follow Cruz' attempt to come back from his "devastating 2014 knee injury." Gotham Chopra "will direct" the film; he also directed "Kobe Bryant's Muse." WME-IMG "negotiated the deal on behalf of Chopra, Cruz, James and Carter" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 8/11).
