'After Jackie': LeBron producing baseball documentary for History channel
Feb 27, 2022
Washington [US], February 27 : NBA star LeBron James is producing baseball documentary titled 'After Jackie' for the History channel.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the television giant has ordered a new documentary from producer Stanley Nelson and Major League Baseball, focusing on the Black baseball players who followed the late American baseball legend Jackie Robinson after the legendary Dodger broke the sport's colour barrier.
The two-hour documentary, 'After Jackie', comes from LeBron James and Maverick Carter's content studio Uninterrupted, and has James and Carter as executive producers, alongside Emmy-winner and Oscar nominee Nelson and director Andre Gaines.
MLB and the Jackie Robinson Foundation are also participating in the project, as per the outlet.
After Jackie follows the teams, players and stories that came after Robinson broke baseball's colour barrier, and includes interviews with current and former players, as well as expansive archival footage from MLB's library.
CC Sabathia and Mookie Betts are among the players confirmed to appear, with Bob Gibson and Curt Flood among the players to be featured in the documentary.
"As a lifelong fan of baseball, I'm thrilled to be presenting this in-depth documentary on some of the lesser-known legends who followed in Jackie Robinson's footsteps to push past racial barriers in order to make Major League Baseball more inclusive," said Nelson in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
"I'm excited to work with Andre Gaines on this project and am grateful to The History Channel, Uninterrupted, Major League Baseball, and The Jackie Robinson Foundation for making this film possible," added Nelson.
James and Nelson had previously partnered on another documentary for History Channel about the civil rights movement titled 'Rise Up', which aired in 2018.