Showtime Slates Boys in Blue Football Docuseries

Boys in Blue, a docuseries from Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, Lone Survivor) spotlighting Minneapolis’s North Community High School and its football team, is slated to premiere on Showtime on January 6.

The team’s mostly Black athletes are coached and mentored by members of the Minneapolis Police Department. The series follows as they navigate life after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, finding common ground on the field in order to win a state championship.

Following the series debut on January 6, episodes will air each Friday. All four episodes will release on-demand and on streaming platforms for Showtime subscribers on January 6.

Berg’s directing credits include Very Bad Things, Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, Hancock, Battleship, the WGA-nominated Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day, Mile 22 and Spenser Confidential. For television, he is widely known for creating and executive producing the television series adaptation of Friday Night Lights, The Leftovers and Ballers. He is also the founder of the scripted entertainment production company Film 44, the unscripted entertainment production company Film 45 and the commercial production company Film 47.

Boys in Blue is executive produced by Berg via Film 45, with partners Matthew Goldberg and Brandon Carroll, alongside Rob Ford. The series is produced by Mandon Lovett and co-executive produced by Emily Webster Jackson, Giselle Rodriguez, Ryan Schiavo and Andre Gary.

“Having lived in Minneapolis—St. Paul, I could not reconcile the city I loved so much with the horrific murder of George Floyd, and I felt compelled to find a way to personally respond,” said Berg. “Spending a year with the North High football team has provided me access into the soul of a beautiful American community that was deeply suffering. We have captured the wins and the losses, on the field and off. We have been trusted by so many teachers, coaches, parents and students, all living in the immediate wake of the George Floyd murder, and the complexities of trying to survive and find joy in very challenging times. I have so much love and respect for the Minneapolis North community, and it is my hope that through Boys in Blue, we may get fresh understandings of these issues and find paths to empathy and hope.”