Apple TV+ behind Boris Becker doc

Apple TV+ has emerged as the platform behind the high-profile Boris Becker series from doc giants Alex Gibney and John Battsek.

The untitled series, which Gibney and Battsek have been working up over the past three years, aims to detail the definitive story about the man who burst onto the tennis scene as the 17-year-old Wimbledon champion but whose outlandish personal life has led to his bankruptcy and imprisonment.

Oscar-winning Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) and Battsek (Searching for Sugar Man) have been given special access to Becker, with the two-part docuseries exploring every aspect of his life. It will feature a series of personal interviews with the icon – including an exclusive conversation in the week of his sentencing for hiding assets and loans to avoid paying debts. Members of his immediate family and stars including John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Novak Djokovic, Mats Wilander and Michael Stich are also interviewed.

The series is co-produced by Battsek’s London-based Ventureland and Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions. Lorton Entertainment (Diego Maradona, Rooney) financed the project.

It is the latest premium sports doc to emerge from Battsek after Netflix’s recent global football corruption exposé FIFA Uncovered and its forthcoming David Beckham biopic, which is reportedly worth around £16m.

Apple TV+ is ramping up its sports documentaries and announced Super League: The War For Football today (14 December) to go alongside its acquisition of feature-length doc on Formula 1 star Sir Lewis Hamilton. It also has premium series Underrated and They Call Me Magic profiling basketball stars Steph Curry and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, respectively.

This article was originally published on our sister site, Broadcast.