Boston Red Sox To Get Netflix Documentary Treatment For 2024

Netflix and the Boston Red Sox are joining forces for the 2024 season, in an exciting announcement for baseball and sports documentary fans.

Over the past few years, Netflix has made sports-themed documentaries a new focus, with the much-loved Formula 1: Drive to Survive series credited with rapidly increasing the popularity of Formula 1 racing in the United States. They followed that up with the PGA Tour-focused Full Swing, which benefited from the rise of LIV Golf during filming. Both documentary series are set to release new seasons in the coming weeks.

Even the NFL got involved, with the Quaterback series shadowing Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota. And now Major League Baseball is jumping into the Netflix universe too.

The streaming service announced Wednesday that they will follow the Red Sox over the entire 2024 season. According to the announcement, it will feature "unprecedented access to Red Sox players, coaches and executives," which should make for a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at what goes into an MLB season.

FT. MYERS, FL - FEBRUARY 21: Manager Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox addresses the media during a press conference during a spring training team workout on February 21, 2021 at jetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Netflix Documentary A Smart Move For MLB

There's no question that the Netflix treatment has helped spur growth for Formula 1 and professional golf, and this one seems likely to benefit professional baseball as well. 

While there's no shortage of retrospective documentaries about the sports world, it's been a fresh, novel concept to see contemporaneous behind-the-scenes footage of the modern game. For a sport that's seen its popularity lag in recent years, the type of "unprecedented access" Netflix is promising could spur more interest in the game, especially for the younger fans MLB desperately craves.

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Unsurprisingly, the documentary will focus more on the personal stories of the players and personalities on the Red Sox, according to MLB.com. And despite the grind of a marathon 162-game season, manager Alex Cora said the team expects to fully embrace it. "We’re going to embrace this experience from the very first day of filming to the last," said Cora. "This is an incredible opportunity for the entire Red Sox organization, but I’m most excited about what this means for our players. Netflix will be able to magnify their stories in a way Major League Baseball has never seen."

The one downside to this extensive format is that the first episodes won't premiere until 2025. It's going to be a long wait.