Manchester United is turning to scripted drama as a way to monetise its history without the reputational risks of fly‑on‑the‑wall documentaries.
Manchester United has reportedly agreed a deal with Lionsgate, the film and television studio, to produce a scripted series based on the club’s history.
According to The Athletic, the project will be a dramatisation rather than a documentary, with comparisons drawn to Netflix’s The Crown in its approach to storytelling.
While details remain unconfirmed, including casting, platform, release date, and the exact period of United’s history to be featured, reports suggest British writer Jed Mercurio, best known for Line of Duty and a lifelong United fan, has held early discussions around the project.
Founded in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR FC, Manchester United’s story offers no shortage of dramatic material.
The Munich Air Disaster of 1958, in which eight players were killed when the team’s plane crashed during takeoff in Germany, remains one of football’s darkest moments, while the club’s modern era of dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles, provides a contrasting narrative of sustained success.
It could easily be imagined how these two periods of time could form the type of emotional arc which lends itself naturally to scripted television rather than fly-on-the-wall documentary formats.
A rethink after Amazon
While the value of the Lionsgate agreement is unknown, it is not United’s first contact with major studios. The club has previously held talks with Disney, and most recently agreed a reported £10m deal with Amazon to produce an ‘All or Nothing-style’ documentary series.
Such shows have become increasingly popular across the Premier League, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur opening up their dressing rooms, training grounds and internal meetings to Amazon cameras.
The format offers fans access and provides clubs with both a lucrative rights fee and significant global exposure and can allow fans to connect with players and coaches in a sport where criticism often overcomes praise.
However, the model also carries reputational risk, particularly when results on the pitch are poor. In United’s case, former Head Coach Ruben Amorim reportedly raised concerns to minority owner Jim Ratcliffe, leading him to reject the Amazon proposal.
In hindsight this perhaps wasn’t a bad idea given the Portuguese manager was sacked just 18 months into his tenure.
This same caution appears to have influenced the club’s pivot toward scripted storytelling instead. Unlike documentaries, dramatisations allow clubs to retain far greater editorial control over how their narrative is framed, selecting which eras, figures and moments are highlighted while avoiding the unpredictability of real-time access to dressing rooms and boardrooms.
Commercial upside without reputational downside
Commercially, United’s interest in content is unsurprising, with media projects offering clubs a rare opportunity to monetise their history directly, rather than relying solely on matchday income, broadcast rights and sponsorship revenue.
They also allow brands to reach new, non-traditional football audiences, particularly in international markets where emotional storytelling can build affinity faster than match highlights.
This was especially the case for Formula 1’s film starring Brad Pitt, which wasn’t necessarily for existing F1 fans, but was aimed at appealing to younger audiences through exaggerating what races and behind the scenes operations are like.
The club’s failure to qualify for European competition has already put pressure on revenues, while continued investment in infrastructure and squad development remains costly, especially with plans to build a new stadium.
