The epic beat-down Bishop Sycamore High School endured during a 58-0 match on ESPN has now become a fast-tracked documentary led by Kevin Hart.
Deadline reports that Hart’s company, HartBeat Productions, is partnering with Complex Networks, Klutch Originals and Haven Entertainment to create what they’re calling the “definitive” documentary series the wildest football story to come out of 2021.
Hart and Rich Paul, who serves as Klutch Sports Group founder/CEO as well as the head of UTA Sports and LeBron James’ agent, have already announced they have secured exclusive interviews with coaches and players. Hart and Paul are also in talks with showrunners and editors and are looking for a broadcaster for the project. The Bishop Sycamore saga will also get a scripted treatment as well.
Ohio-based Bishop Sycamore is like the Fyre Fest in the form of a football team. According to SBNation, the supposedly online charter school–which is actually a front for grown men over 18 years of age to play high school football–started in 2018 with Roy Johnson’s Christians of Faith Academy. That school ended after a year when Johnson was investigated for alleged fraud. He went onto create YouthBuild Centurions, which eventually became Bishop Sycamore. As Bishop Sycamore, the team has constantly been under scrutiny for various reasons, including the fact that it is not part of the Ohio State Athletic Association and has only played against one Ohio school.
The team has lost every game they have been on record playing since 2020, the year the school officially went by the name “Bishop Sycamore.” But the fateful game that propelled Bishop Sycamore into viral status happened Aug. 29 against IMG Academy.
Hart said he was instantly “drawn” to Bishop Sycamore’s story as soon as he started looking at the viral conversations.
“As soon as I started following this story, I was immediately drawn to it and know it was something that myself and my team at HartBeat had to dive into,” he said in a statement. “HBP thrives in the doc-series space. We understand how to break down stories and capture the most interesting and honest moments in a narrative. We know this con comes with a robust backstory and cannot wait to share it with the world.”
“When the news first broke, it became clear to me that this side of the amateur athletics landscape needs to be more deeply discussed and explored,” added Paul, “and I’m thrilled that HartBeat, Complex and Haven Entertainment share Klutch Original’s passion for telling important and timely stories.”
Kevin Mann and Michael Mann from Haven Entertainment also said in a statement how the “layered and complicated story” of Bishop Sycamore is the type of story the company loves to tell.
“This type of layered and complicated story we pride ourselves on telling and we are excited to partner with HartBeat Productions, Klutch Originals and Complex Networks,” they said.
Zion Olojede, a Complex editor, also added how their “extensive reserach and interviews” about the fake school “have revealed alleged dark secrets and details that have put Complex at the forefront of this coverage and global conversation.”
“I’m excited for us to be able to share and tell the full story in ways that no other companyc an, and in the incredible company of partners like HartBeat Productions, Klutch Originals, and Haven Entertainment.”