Peyton Manning said his new ESPN+ show "Peyton's Places" will tell the history of the NFL in a way the "die-hard football fan would like," but also for someone who may not "care much about football," according to Peter King of NBCSPORTS.com. The show, which debuts July 29, has an "NFL Films edge to it, with reverence and deep research into NFL history," in part because it is a "co-production between NFL Films and ESPN." The show is "not a Ken Burns baseball doc, covering all aspects of baseball history in chronological order," but more a "contemporary look at football’s century, telling anecdotal stories in 15 to 28-minute episodes that don’t have to fit into a neat network package." Episodes cover the Joe Namath guarantee in Super Bowl III as well as a recreation of the Immaculate Reception, with Manning throwing a ball to Pro Football HOFer Franco Harris. The show's format lends itself to "more conversation than interviewing." NFL Films producer Neil Zender said, "What Peyton is really good at is not the Action News interview technique. It’s just talking to these guys like he’s one of them, which of course he is” (NBCSPORTS.com, 7/15).
