By Andrew Marchand, Brendan Marks and Matt Baker
The docuseries following Bill Belichick’s first season at North Carolina is no longer in development, a source briefed on the decision confirmed Tuesday. A reason for the change was not immediately clear, and the Tar Heels did not return requests for comment. Inside Carolina first reported the news.
In late August, Belichick announced a season-long documentary/docuseries about his program would stream on Hulu this fall. Carolina’s official football social media accounts shared the news. Neither Hulu nor the production company, EverWonder Studio, made similar announcements.
The financial implications of the move are unclear. The Athletic made a public-records request to the university for the show’s contract on Aug. 25, a day after Belichick and the Tar Heels announced the series. The school has not yet responded.
Belichick’s Tar Heels were originally expected to be the subject of a similar series, a college version of the HBO show “Hard Knocks.” That project was serious enough this spring that North Carolina, HBO and NFL Films discussed when and how they’d formally announce the show and whipped up a promotional graphic with Belichick. It fell through, and the role of Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, was a sticking point, The Athletic reported in April.
As the Hulu series was set to become public in August, Hudson posted a photo of her blowing a kiss with Hulu, Disney+ and EverWonder in the Instagram caption. That caption was edited five days ago; only EverWonder remained as of Tuesday afternoon. The studio did not return messages.
The idea of a Belichick/Carolina project dates back to at least January. That’s when Hudson filed paperwork in Massachusetts to form Chapel Bill LLC, which related to the “production and subsequent exploitation of (a) multi-platform media project.” Hudson has previously identified herself as the Chief Operating Officer of Belichick Productions.
North Carolina hasn’t come close to living up to the preseason buzz that accompanied one of the most intriguing coaching hires in recent history. The 2-3 Tar Heels have lost every game against a Power 4 opponent (TCU, UCF and Clemson) by at least 25 points and rank 93rd in The Athletic 136 ranking of every FBS team. UNC has the nation’s No. 119 scoring offense (18.8 points per game), while the Belichick defense is 124th in sacks (1.2 per game) and 70th in yards per play allowed (5.46).
North Carolina is off this week and plays at Cal on Oct. 17.
