Apple TV+ today announced Boris Becker’s new two-part documentary from Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney (“Taxi to the Dark Side,” “Enron,” “The Armstrong Lie,” “Going Clear”) and award-winning producer Oscar, John Battsek (“A Day in September,” “Looking for Sugar Man,” “Hillsborough,” Elrescate”). The untitled series aims to explore every aspect of the man who became a tennis sensation after winning the Wimbledon Championships at the age of just 17, winning 49 titles in his career, including six Grand Slams and one medal. Olympic gold medal, as well as his high-profile and sometimes tumultuous personal life.
The Oscar-winning filmmakers have had special access to Becker for more than three years, until late April 2022, when he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for concealing assets and loans to avoid paying his debts. The series features a series of personal interviews with Becker, including an exclusive conversation with the champion the week of his sentencing, along with members of his immediate family and tennis stars including John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Novak Djokovic, Mats Wilander and Michael Stitch.
The series is a co-production between Lorton Entertainment’s Battsek’s Ventureland and Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, whose projects also include BAFTA-nominated Asif Kapadia’s “Diego Maradona” and Matt Smith’s recent documentary “Rooney,” about the English soccer great. Wayne Rooney.
The series will join Apple’s growing lineup of nonfiction programming featuring the biggest names in the sport, including a documentary on the groundbreaking life and career of seven-time Formula One world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton; the recently announced documentary “Underrated,” featuring NBA legend Stephen Curry; the acclaimed, Emmy-nominated, four-part documentary event series “They Call Me Magic,” chronicling the life and career of two-time NBA Hall of Famer and cultural icon Earvin “Magic” Johnson; “The Dynasty,” a new documentary series about the New England Patriots, from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries, in association with NFL Films; “The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball” about basketball sensation Makur Maker; “Greatness Code,” a short-form unscripted series directed by Gotham Chopra and co-produced by Uninterrupted and Religion of Sports; and “Make or Break,” a World Surf League docuseries.
