VICE expanding 'Dark Side' series into Football and 90s culture

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Originally published at VICE expanding 'Dark Side' series into Football and 90s culture

VICE’s Dark Side of the Ring series has a third season in production and now VICE is expanding the ‘Dark Side’ series into Football and 90s culture. The network ordered two Dark Side spinoffs and those are currently in production and will join season three of Dark Side of the Ring on-air.

Dark Side of the Football is going to tell the story of those who played the game at a high level and put their flaws, trails and tribulations at the forefront of an episode. 44 Blue Productions are producing the series. Dark Side of the 90s is going to take a look at some of pop culture’s biggest moments and personalities from the time period.

Below is the press release from VICE:

DECEMBER 8, 2020 – BROOKLYN, NY – VICE TV announces it is expanding its record-breaking docuseries Dark Side of the Ring into a franchise with two new series: Dark Side of the Football and Dark Side of the ’90s. Building on the meteoric success of Dark Side of the Ring, VICE TV’s highest-rated show, which was recently renewed for a third season, the two new Dark Side spinoffs are currently in production and will debut in 2021.

“We are thrilled to expand the Dark Side franchise and take a harder look at the untold stories of two our our favorite cultural touchstones: football and ’90s nostalgia. Both topics are rich with controversial characters, subjects, and events that are ripe for investigation,” said Morgan Hertzan, Executive Vice President and General Manager, VICE Television. “Dark Side of the Ring beautifully lifts the veil on the most gripping stories in wrestling, and I cannot wait for audiences to see what we uncover in our next iterations.”

Dark Side of the Football shines a light on stories that live in the shadows of America’s favorite sport. Gripping and compelling tales about the sometimes flawed men behind the face masks; the coaches, teams, and leagues who control their fates; and the untold story behind bizarre and tragic off-the-field events — facts that have been hidden to shield fans from discovering unsettling truths about the game they love. All told from interviews with the people who were there and know what really happened. The series is produced by 44 Blue Productions for VICE TV.

Dark Side of the ’90s will reveal the soul of the decade through its most captivating pop-culture moments, trends and personalities, through interviews with people who studied the time period. Each episode will dissect the nostalgia, uncovering the surprising dark truths underlying the glitz, the glamour and the headlines. The series is produced by Railsplitter Pictures and Insight Productions for VICE TV.

It has been confirmed by Dark Side of the Ring producer Evan Husney that WCW/NJPW Collision in Korea will be covered in season 3.

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It’ll probably be more popular with them now covering subjects that more people are familiar with but hoping they still continue to cover niche entertainment forms like wrestling.

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Dark Side of the 90’s: JNCO Jeans could be worth a watch.

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If you thought the Montreal Screwjob had already been done to death, just wait for the inevitable “Death of Kurt Cobain” episode.

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Smart move on Vice’s part.

If they went solely down the pro wrestling path, they would eventually run out of stories as there are only so many ways you can tell the story of a wrestler getting addicted to drugs in the 80’s/90’s only to die young.

This opens up an entire world for them. I’m sure they’ll do Curt Cobain like mentioned above, Chris Farley, Tonya Harding, OJ, MJ’s gambling/fathers death etc. Granted all these subjects have been done to death, but this has never stopped them before.

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Yeah but who killed 2Pac & Biggie!?

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Incredibly shitty news. And what a shitty decision, not to involve the creative team behind your networks most successful show ever.

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Oh, yikes. I just assumed they all worked on this idea together. Ya, thats a bit of a blindside.

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Not sure that I’d be interested in either, but unlike the “General 90s Pop Culture” one I can see the football series doing well. But yeah, Vice have a habit of pissing off the people behind their most successful shows: just ask the Bodega Boys…

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The football version will be interesting to me. The 90s pop culture one I’ll pass on. Feels likes all the big ones have been talked about plenty over the last 2 decades.

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It’s incredibly disrespectful and messed up.

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These seem like weird directions to be heading in, since the dark sides of both football and the 90s are pretty well known. The strength of DSOTR is that it’s taking something that most people know/ knew on a surface level and revealing what was going on behind the scenes.

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