Sunderland 'Til I Die is a sports documentary series. Produced by Fulwell 73, the series documents the events around English football club Sunderland A.F.C.. Released on 14 December 2018, the first series documents Sunderland's 2017–18 season which saw the club playing in the EFL Championship having been relegated from the Premier League the season prior. As a result of the first series success a second series was produced documenting the following season in 2018-19 which coincided with the club's first season under the ownership of Stewart Donald; this was released on 1 April 2020. No plans are currently in place for a third series, though the show's producers have not ruled out the possibility of one in the future. Overall the show has received positive reviews from critics and fans.
Background
Sunderland chairman Ellis Short originally agreed to extensive, behind-the-scenes filming in the summer of 2017 on the basis it would attract potential investors. Sunderland had already been the focus of previous fly on the wall documentaries, including the 1998 Premier Passions and its 1999 follow-up Premier Pressures. Production company Fulwell 73 had allegedly expressed interest in buying Sunderland in June 2017 shortly before the commencement of filming, but withdrew, citing the demands of their production business. Promoting Sunderland 'til I Die on The Totally Football League Show in December 2018, Pearlman and Turner cast doubt on the veracity of these reports, suggesting there had been: "a lot of two plus two equals five going on". Speaking on the Roker Report podcast prior to the release of the series, Pearlman and Turner, both Sunderland fans, revealed that they had been trying to produce material for the club for a while and had even offered to produce an end-of-season DVD for free. Filming commenced in June 2017 with the expectation that Sunderland would be challenging for promotion back to the Premier League. Manager Chris Coleman admitted to being uncomfortable with the filming arrangements, which were already in place when he replaced Simon Grayson as manager part way through the season. Coleman described the constant attention as being 'unnatural'. The series does not include a repeat of the memorable, expletive-laden dressing room scenes from Premier Passions, as Coleman explained: "The only thing I really dug my heels in about was that I didn't want any filming in my dressing room. That’s been kept separate." The series culminates with the takeover of the club by Stewart Donald following relegation. A premiere of the first episode took place at the Sunderland Empire Theatre on 5 December 2018. The production company were joined by local media, Sunderland players and staff, and a group of 200 season ticket holders who had been selected from a draw. After the premiere, attendees were shown a trailer for a second series. The opening titles were created by Alchemy Studio, and feature icons from Sunderland's industrial past, with the song "Shipyards" from the Sunderland-based band The Lake Poets. Filming continued during the 2018-19 season, with a view to producing a second series. Speaking to BBC Sport in February 2019, Turner said that they had received greater access since the change of ownership. Regarding the possibility of a third series, co-producer Leo Pearlman has stated that there are no plans currently in place for one and filming didn't take place during the 2019–20 season. However, he didn't rule out the possibility of a third series sometime in the future.
Critical response to the series has been positive. Reviewing the series for Sports Illustrated, Luis Miguel Echegaray compared it to and wrote: "The project perfectly encapsulates the cultural significance of the city’s relationship with its proud, working-class supporters. As a result, Sunderland 'Til I Die, despite the club's plight, is a cut above the rest." Writing for The Independent, Alex Hess again drew comparisons to All or Nothing, suggesting that, unlike the "weirdly bland affair" which followed Manchester City's unrelenting success, the dismal failure of Sunderland's season made for "triumphant TV". The Newcastle-based Evening Chronicle gave the series a positive five-star review describing it as "so much more than just a tale of woe" and praising the show's focus on the fans. Writing for The Guardian, Barry Glendenning described it as a "wonderful series" which: "simultaneously showcases everything that is right and wrong with English football." Jack Fox in the Metro states "at times it’s more gory than Game of Thrones but it is a series well worth binging on." The Daily Telegraph gave it four out of five stars, and described it as an "uplifting story", while The Wall Street Journal described it as "superb". Writing a review for the Sunderland Echo, Phil Smith expressed disappointment at the lack of anything revelatory or explosive in the series, and considered the setup of Sunderland as an area of post-industrial poverty a little forced in the opening episodes. Nevertheless he described it as "a beautiful and fundamentally true piece of work".
