HBO’s critically acclaimed documentary series, 24/7 returns on Saturday and it’s back to look at the NHL Winter Classic with the two teams which were supposed to play at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor earlier this year. Due to the blasted lockout, the Winter Classic was postponed until January 1, 2014.
The Detroit Red Wings will take on long-time rival the Toronto Maple Leafs and with realignment, the teams are back in the same division.
HBO Sports has been following both teams and 24/7 has been good in introducing viewers to the personalities of the great game of hockey.
The series premieres at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. We have details of the series from HBO and the NHL below.
HBO SPORTS® AND THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE JOIN FORCES FOR 24/7 RED WINGS/MAPLE LEAFS: ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC,
A FOUR-EPISODE, ALL-ACCESS SERIES DEBUTING SATURDAY, DEC. 14 ON HBOHBO Sports’ groundbreaking “24/7” reality franchise, which has captured 17 Sports Emmy® Awards, again joins forces with the National Hockey League for the all-access reality series 24/7 RED WINGS/MAPLE LEAFS: ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC, debuting SATURDAY, DEC. 14 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. The rivalry reaches its apex when the teams meet in the sixth edition of the NHL Winter Classic® on Wednesday, Jan. 1 at the University of Michigan football stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., where the stage will be set for more than 100,000 fans to attend the outdoor event.
Episode #1
Debut: SATURDAY, DEC. 14 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Other HBO playdates: Dec. 14 (4:30 a.m.), 15 (8:30 a.m.), 16 (5:30 p.m., 2:25 a.m.), 17 (2:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m.), 18 (5:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m.), 19 (midnight), 20 (11:45 p.m.) and 21 (11:00 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Dec. 15 (midnight), 20 (9:00 p.m.) and 30 (11:30 a.m.)
Head coaches Mike Babcock of the Red Wings and Randy Carlyle of the Maple Leafs, along with a host of key players, are in the spotlight as the two clubs battle through busy December schedules.
For the first time, all four episodes of the HBO Sports HD presentation debut in prime time, on consecutive Saturday nights. Episodes two and three debut on subsequent Saturdays, Dec. 21 and 28, at the same time. The series finale debuts Saturday, Jan. 4, three days after the NHL Winter Classic, with cameras tracking all the drama of game day.
With 17 Sports Emmys®, “24/7” is the most-honored sports series of the past six years. At the 2012 Sports Emmy® Awards, the series received the Dick Schaap Writing Award for “24/7 Flyers/Rangers,” the third Sports Emmy® for the “24/7” NHL franchise. Launched in 2007, the earliest editions of “24/7” were devoted to boxing.
The executive producer of 24/7 RED WINGS/MAPLE LEAFS: ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC is Rick Bernstein; senior producer, Dave Harmon; coordinating producer, Bentley Weiner; producer, Thomas Odelfelt; writer, Aaron Cohen; narrator, Liev Schreiber.
That will do it. Back later.
