Apple TV+ today announced the new two-part Boris Becker documentary event from Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney (“Taxi to the Dark Side,” “Enron,” “The Armstrong Lie,” “Going Clear“) and Oscar-winning producer John Battsek (“One Day in September,” “Searching for Sugar Man,” “Hillsborough,” “The Rescue“). 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, going on to win 49 career titles including six Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal, as well as his high profile, 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 hiding 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, alongside members of his immediate family and tennis stars including John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Novak Djokovic, Mats Wilander, and Michael Stich.
The series is a co-production between Battsek’s Ventureland and Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, from Lorton Entertainment whose projects also include Asif Kapadia’s BAFTA Award-nominated “Diego Maradona” and Matt Smith’s recent documentary “Rooney,” on English football great, Wayne Rooney.
The series will join Apple’s expanding offering of non-fiction programming featuring the biggest names in sports, including a feature documentary about the groundbreaking life and career of seven-time Formula One world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton; newly announced documentary film “Underrated,” featuring NBA legend Stephen Curry; the acclaimed Emmy Award-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,” the World Surf League docuseries.