Sports fans learned of a mysterious school based out of Columbus, Ohio last week when Bishop Sycamore’s football program got rinsed on national television by elite prep program IMG Academy. What happened in the coming days peeled back the curtain on an online charter school and made the situation look extremely bleak, especially when one ex-player gave a shocking interview that revealed the extent to which Bishop Sycamore is one big grift.
A whole lot of things have happened in the aftermath, including the football program’s head coach, Ron Johnson, being fired and Ohio governor Mike DeWine announcing there’s going to be an investigation into what exactly is going on here. And now, Deadline reports that the entire ordeal is going to get the docuseries treatment, thanks to Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Productions, Complex Networks, Klutch Originals, and Haven Entertainment.
Hollywood always smells a good story and there has been a stampede to corral rights to this one, even as it plays out in real time. Hart and Klutch Sports Group CEO-founder Rich Paul (also LeBron James’ agent and head of UTA Sports) are the first to stake out ground here. They have secured exclusive interviews with players and coaches both present and past who were part of what is now reportedly considered an online charter school. They are in discussions with high-level creative showrunners and editors and will secure one soon, and they soon take this to market to find a broadcaster.
“As soon as I started following this story, I was immediately drawn to it and knew it was something that myself and my team at HartBeat had to dive into. HBP thrives in the doc-series space,” Hart said. “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.”
It’s exceedingly early on in the project, so there is no word on a release date or any other bits of similar information. But considering the details we’ve learned in the last week, we can only imagine what else we’ll learn through this.
