International Olympic Committee (IOC) and streaming platform Netflix have collaborated on the iconic 2008 US Olympic Men’s Basketball victory as a documentary.
This is Netflix’s first collaboration with the Olympic Channel, which is the media studio owned and operated by the IOC and also marks the Olympic Channel’s first time producing a film exclusively for a global streaming service.
They have opened up their never-before-seen archives for this documentary, including basketball footage from the past 70 years of Olympic history.
Using unprecedented Olympic footage and behind-the-scenes material, The Redeem Team tells the story of the US Olympic Men’s Basketball Team’s quest for gold at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 following the previous team’s shocking performance four years earlier in Athens.
As per the company’s press release, the documentary offers a fascinating portrait of team building and features insightful interviews with athletes and coaches from Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski, who reflect on how The Redeem Team set a new standard for American basketball. The documentary film releases globally on Netflix on October 7.
Directed by Jon Weinbach. A decorated producer, filmmaker, and writer, Jon Weinbach is the President of Skydance Sports, a division of Skydance Media. He was formerly the Executive Producer and Executive Vice-President of Mandalay Sports Media, a content venture founded in 2012 by Peter Guber and Mike Tollin.
His portfolio at MSM included producing The Last Dance, executive producing The Comedy Store, and executive producing nine documentary films for the International Olympic Committee’s OTT platform, the Olympic Channel. Prior to joining Mandalay, Jon produced and wrote the Producers Guild of America Award-nominated The Other Dream Team, and was also a staff reporter at the Wall Street Journal.
Mark Parkman, GM Olympic Channel Services, said, “The Redeem Team represents the very best of what the Olympics are all about. This film will bring viewers directly inside that team and the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 by showcasing the personality and dynamics of a special group of superstars who came together as one to reclaim basketball supremacy on the biggest stage in sports.”
Executive Producer Dwyane Wade, said, “In 2008, I played with heroes of mine, all stars, friends, and future teammates. Outside of winning and showing the world that we were still the most dominant, our other big challenge was changing the perception of what everyone thought about the NBA and USA Basketball! I’m excited for everyone to get an opportunity to go behind the scenes and see all the work that went into this iconic team — The Redeem Team!”