30 for 30

Sports documentary film series

This article is about the documentary film series. For the song by SZA and Kendrick Lamar, see 30 for 30 (song).

30 for 30

Logo for 30 for 30 Volume I films

Genre| Sports documentary
Created by|

* Bill Simmons
* Connor Schell

Directed by| various
Original language| English
No. of episodes| 157
Production
Executive producer| Marsha Cooke
Production company| ESPN Films
Original release
Network|

* ESPN
* ESPN2
* ABC
* ESPN Deportes
* ESPN+

Release| October 6, 2009 (2009-10-06) –
present
Related

* Nine for IX
* SEC Storied

30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts.

## Background

[edit]

The idea for the series began in 2007 from ESPN.com columnist and Grantland.com founder Bill Simmons and ESPN's Connor Schell.[1] The title, 30 for 30, derived from the series's genesis as 30 films in celebration of ESPN's 30th anniversary in 2009, with an exploration of the biggest stories from ESPN's first 30 years on-air, through a series of 30 one-hour films by 30 filmmakers.[2][3]

Volume I premiered in October 2009 and ran to December 2010, chronicling 30 stories from the "ESPN era", beginning with the network's founding in 1979. Each film in Volume I details a striking sports issue or event that occurred during those three decades, including what Simmons describes as "stories that resonated at the time [they occurred] but were eventually forgotten for whatever reason."[1] Subsequent films, including Volume II and online-only shorts, expanded the series beyond the "ESPN era".

In September 2014, Schell said, "Even though we have been at this for five years now, there is no shortage of incredible moments from the world of sports, so that enables us to continue making 30 for 30 films we're proud of."[4] In 2010, John Dahl, Connor Schell and Simmons served as 30 for 30's executive producers.[5][6][7] In April 2018, it was announced that the entire archive of 30 for 30 films and shorts would be available on ESPN+, ESPN's direct-to-consumer online platform, once the service launched on April 12, 2018.[8]

## Series overview

[edit]

Main article: List of 30 for 30 films

Series| Episodes| Originally released

|
|

First released| Last released
Volume I| 30| October 6, 2009 (2009-10-06)| December 11, 2010 (2010-12-11)
ESPN Films Presents| 14| March 13, 2011 (2011-03-13)| February 12, 2015 (2015-02-12)
Shorts| TBA| May 15, 2012 (2012-05-15)| TBA
Volume II| 30| October 2, 2012 (2012-10-02)| July 30, 2015 (2015-07-30)
Soccer Stories| 8| April 15, 2014 (2014-04-15)| July 1, 2014 (2014-07-01)
Volume III| 30| October 13, 2015 (2015-10-13)| July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02)
Volume IV| 30| September 10, 2019 (2019-09-10)| TBA

## Reception

[edit]

### Critical response

[edit]

The A.V. Club review for the eighth entry, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks, called it "the most hotly anticipated [of the first eight]" and stated that "it more than lived up to the hype."[9] Special praise was given to Brett Morgen's collage documentary June 17th, 1994 as a standout episode.[10][11] The A.V. Club has given positive and negative reviews for different episodes in the series, with notable critical reviews of the three Volume I episodes that had involvement by the media production arms of Major League Baseball (Four Days in October), the NBA (Once Brothers) and NASCAR (Tim Richmond: To the Limit).[12][13][14]

### Ratings

[edit]

Connor Schell, Bill Simmons and John Dahl with award for 30 for 30 at the 70th Annual Peabody Awards

The series had a slow beginning. The first film, Peter Berg's Kings Ransom, a chronicle of Wayne Gretzky's trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings, premiered on October 6, 2009, to poor ratings.[15][16] Kings Ransom drew a 0.5 national rating and a total viewership of 645,000.[15][16] As awareness and critical acclaim grew, the viewing audience also grew. By the seventh episode, The U, the audience had grown to a 1.8 rating and well over 2 million viewers.[17][18]

### Accolades

[edit]

* 2010 Peabody Award Winner[19]
* 2010 International Documentary Association's "Distinguished Continuing Series"[18]
* 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short-Format Nonfiction Program[20]
* 2016 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for O.J.: Made in America[21][22]
* 2016 Peabody Award for O.J.: Made in America[23][24]
* 2016 Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature for O.J.: Made in America[25]
* 2019 Adweek Podcast Awards for Publisher-Hosted Podcast of the Year[26]
* 2022 Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards for Best Broadcast Network or Cable Docuseries or Non-Fiction Series (nomination).[27]
* 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards for Best Ongoing Documentary Series.[28]

## Sponsors

[edit]

Cadillac and Levi's are the presenting sponsors of the series. The Cadillac name appears on the 30 for 30 logo. The Levi's "go forth" slogan appears on the bottom corner of the screen during the directors interstitial comments, which appear for 45 seconds at the beginning of each film and 30 seconds at the end. Commercials for both companies were shown during every intermission during the original air dates, with Levi's guaranteed a 60-second commercial slot at the beginning of the third act.

Cadillac replaced Honda as a primary sponsor. During its time as a contributor, Honda aired parts of its "Dream the Impossible" documentary series in the first commercial break. During broadcasts in the UK on BT Sport, these sponsorship logos are blurred out due to compliance regulations.

## See also

[edit]

* Nine for IX – a companion series chronicling women's sports stories
* SEC Storied – an ESPN Films series profiling the people, teams, moments and events that tell the ongoing story of the Southeastern Conference
* List of history podcasts
* List of American football films
* List of basketball films

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Bill Simmons on 30 for 30". ESPN. Archived from the original on September 8, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
2. ^ Craggs, Tommy (September 29, 2009). "Donald Trump Goes All Bitchcakes On A "Third-Rate" ESPN Filmmaker". Deadspin.com. Gawker Media. Retrieved September 26, 2016. "For its 30th birthday, ESPN commissioned a series of documentaries, called 30 for 30."
3. ^ Schwartz, Bruce (July 29, 2009). "30 stories for 30 years of ESPN". USAToday.com. USA Today. Retrieved September 26, 2016. "To celebrate its 30th birthday, the network is launching 30 for 30, a series of 30 one-hour films by 30 filmmakers covering the biggest sports stories over the network's first 30 years."
4. ^ Cingari, Jennifer (September 15, 2014). "Fall Slate Announced for ESPN Films' 30 for 30 as Fifth Anniversary of Series Approaches". ESPN MediaZone. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
5. ^ "John Dahl". ESPN MediaZone. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
6. ^ "Connor Schell". ESPN MediaZone. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
7. ^ "Bill Simmons Biography". TVGuide.com. August 13, 2010. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
8. ^ Christie, Jennifer Cingari (April 3, 2018). "ESPN+ to Launch with Exclusive 30 for 30 Documentary "The Last Days of Knight" and Full 30 for 30 Library". ESPN MediaZone. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
9. ^ Tobias, Scott (March 15, 2010). "30 For 30 – "Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 15, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
10. ^ The 30 Best '30 for 30' Films: The Fab Five, Reggie and 'The U' — Rolling Stone
11. ^ 30 For 30: "June 17, 1994"-A.V. Club
12. ^ Tobias, Scott (October 5, 2010). "30 for 30 – "Four Days in October"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
13. ^ Tobias, Scott (October 12, 2010). "30 for 30 – "Once Brothers"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
14. ^ Tobias, Scott (October 19, 2010). "30 for 30 – "Tim Richmond: To The Limit"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
15. ^ a b Best, Neil (October 9, 2009). "Watchdog – Giants' TV ratings jump is third best in NFL to this point". Newsday. Archived from the original on October 17, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
16. ^ a b "SportsBusiness Daily Morning Buzz – October 8, 2009". SportsBusiness Daily. October 8, 2009. Archived from the original on September 27, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
17. ^ Jackson, Barry (March 19, 2010). ""The U" sequel on UM rebirth". The Miami Herald. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
18. ^ a b Seidman, Robert (December 15, 2010). "Critically Acclaimed '30 for 30' Wraps up with Pony Exce$$ – ESPN's Most-Watched Documentary". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
19. ^ 70th Annual Peabody Awards, May 2011.
20. ^ Cingari, Jessica (August 18, 2014). "ESPN Films' 30 for 30 Shorts Celebrates First Primetime Emmy Win". ESPN MediaZone. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
21. ^ Oscar Winners 2017, February 2017.
22. ^ "O.J.: Made in America" wins Best Documentary Feature-Oscars on YouTube
23. ^ O.J.: Made in America – Caroline Waterlow & Ezra Edelman – 2016 Peabody Award Acceptance on Peabody Awards' official Vimeo channel
24. ^ 13th, O.J.: Made In America top this year’s Peabody documentary winners|AV Club
25. ^ Spirit Awards: 'O.J.: Made in America' Wins Best Documentary|Hollywood Reporter
26. ^ "Discover the Winners of Adweek's 2019 Podcast of the Year Awards". December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
27. ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (July 7, 2022). "'This Is Us,' 'Succession,' 'Severance' Lead 2022 HCA TV Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
28. ^ Tinoco, Armando (November 14, 2022). "Critics Choice Documentary Awards: Amazon's 'Good Night Oppy' Tops Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved March 13, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* 30 for 30 official website
* 30 for 30 Podcasts website
* List of 30 for 30 films and short films available on ESPN+ Archived April 3, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
* 30 for 30 at IMDb
* 30 for 30 Shorts at IMDb
* 30 for 30: Soccer Stories at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

ESPN's 30 for 30

ESPN Films \- List of episodes

Volume I (2009–10)|

* The Band That Wouldn't Die
* The U
* No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson
* June 17th, 1994
* Unmatched
* Into the Wind
* Four Days in October
* Once Brothers
* Straight Outta L.A.

ESPN Films Presents
(2011–12)|

* The Fab Five

Volume II (2012–15)|

* Benji
* Elway to Marino
* I Hate Christian Laettner

Soccer Stories (2014)|

* Hillsborough

Volume III (2015–19)|

* Four Falls of Buffalo
* O.J.: Made in America
* Catholics vs. Convicts
* Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies

Volume IV (2019–present)|

* Be Water
* I'm Just Here for the Riot

Related|

* Nine for IX
* SEC Storied

Awards for 30 for 30

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series

2010s|

* Jay Leno's Garage (2011)
* DGA: Moments in Time (2012)
* Remembering 9/11 (2013)
* 30 for 30 Shorts (2014)
* A Tribute to Mel Brooks (2015)
* Inside Look: The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016)
* Viceland at the Women’s March (2017)
* Anthony Bourdain: Explore Parts Unknown (2018)
* Creating Saturday Night Live (2019)

2020s|

* National Geographic Presents Cosmos: Creating Possible Worlds (2020)
* Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man (2021)
* Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents: Once Upon a Time in Late Night (2022)
* Succession: Controlling the Narrative (2023)
* Shōgun – The Making of Shōgun (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Sports Program

* 30 for 30 (2011)
* Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (2012)
* SportsCenter (2013)
* Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (2014)
* Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (2015)
* Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel / VICE World of Sports (2016)
* Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (2017)
* Being Serena (2018)
* What's My Name: Muhammad Ali (2019)
* Defying Gravity: The Untold Story of Women’s Gymnastics (2020)
* 100 Foot Wave (2021)
* Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off (2022)
* Beckham (2023)
* Simone Biles Rising (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Streamy Awards winners – Channel, Series, or Show

Overall|

| Streamer of the Year‡|

* Ninja (2018)
* Ninja (2019)
* Nickmercs (2020)
* Valkyrae (2021)
* Kai Cenat (2022)
* Kai Cenat (2023)

|

Short Form|

* the cheeky boyos (2021)
* Sheena Melwani (2022)
* Chris Olsen (2023)

International†|

* OzGirl (2010)
* Travel Story (2013)
* Noob (2014)
* RackaRacka (2015)
* HolaSoyGerman (2016)
* Juanpa Zurita (2017)
* Pautips (2018)
* Fischer's-フィッシャーズ- , Mark Angel Comedy and Camila Loures (2019)
* Whindersson Nunes (2020)
* Mythpat (2021)
* Khaby Lame (2022)
* Ibai (2023)

Individual|

| Breakout Creator|

* Matthew Santoro (2015)
* Liza Koshy (2016)
* David Dobrik (2017)
* Emma Chamberlain (2018)
* MrBeast (2019)
* Charli D'Amelio (2020)
* Bella Poarch (2021)
* Ryan Trahan (2022)
* Dylan Mulvaney (2023)

|

Breakout Streamer|

* IShowSpeed (2022)
* Fanum (2023)

First Person|

* DailyGrace (2013)
* Jenna Marbles (2014)
* IISuperwomanII (2015)
* Casey Neistat (2016)
* Lilly Singh (2017)
* David Dobrik (2018)
* David Dobrik (2019)
* Emma Chamberlain (2020)
* Yes Theory (2021)
* Airrack (2022)
* Ryan Trahan (2023)

Just Chatting|

* xQc (2022)
* Quackity (2023)

Variety|

* Ludwig (2022)
* IShowSpeed (2023)

VTuber|

* CodeMiko (2022)
* Gawr Gura (2023)

Show|

| Podcast|

* Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig (2018)
* Impaulsive (2019)
* On Purpose with Jay Shetty (2020)
* Dark History (2021)
* Call Her Daddy (2022)
* On Purpose with Jay Shetty (2023)

|

Scripted Series|

* Blame the Hero (2019)
* A Heist with Markiplier (2020)
* Could You Survive The Movies? (2021)
* In Space with Markiplier (2022)
* BRYCE (2023)

Unscripted Series|

* Escape the Night season 4 (2019)
* UNHhhh (2020)
* 30 Days With: Bretman Rock (2021)
* Challenge Accepted (2022)
* Sam and Colby (2023)

Subject|

| Animated|

* How It Should Have Ended (2010)
* Electric City (2013)
* RWBY (2014)
* The Cyanide & Happiness Show (2015)
* sWooZie (2016)
* RWBY (Volume 4) (2017)
* storybooth (2018)
* Andrei Terbea (2019)
* Jaiden Animations (2020)
* Ketnipz (2021)
* MeatCanyon (2022)
* Helluva Boss (2023)

|

Beauty|

* Missglamorazzi (2014)
* Gigi Gorgeous (2015)
* Kandee Johnson (2016)
* Patrick Starrr (2017)
* James Charles (2018)
* Nikita Dragun (2019)
* James Charles (2020)
* Bailey Sarian (2021)
* MissDarcei (2022)
* Mikayla Nogueira (2023)

Comedy|

* Liza Koshy (2017)
* Brandon Rogers (2018)
* Jack Douglass (2019)
* Sarah Cooper (2020)
* LeendaDong (2021)
* RDCWorld (2022)
* RDCWorld (2023)

Commentary|

* ContraPoints (2020)
* Drew Gooden (2021)
* Danny Gonzalez (2022)
* penguinz0 (2023)

Competitive Gamer|

* tarik (2022)
* TenZ (2023)

Fashion and Style‡|

* Bethany Mota (2014)
* Lauren Elizabeth (2015)
* Amanda Steele (2016)
* Tess Christine (2017)
* Niki and Gabi (2018)
* PatrickStarr (2019)
* Wisdom Kaye (2020)
* Wisdom Kaye (2021)
* Wisdom Kaye (2022)
* Wisdom Kaye (2023)

Food‡|

* Epic Meal Time (2014)
* Epic Meal Time (2015)
* Tiny Kitchen (2016)
* Worth It (2017)
* Worth It (2018)
* Binging with Babish (2019)
* Tabitha Brown (2020)
* Nick DiGiovanni (2021)
* Cooking with Lynja (2022)
* Nick DiGiovanni (2023)

Gamer‡|

* Smosh Games (2014)
* PewDiePie (2015)
* The Game Theorists (2016)
* Smosh Games (2017)
* Ninja (2018)
* The Game Theorists (2019)
* Dream (2020)
* Dream (2021)
* Markiplier (2022)
* Dream (2023)

Health and Wellness|

* Blogilates (2014)
* Blogilates (2015)
* Yoga With Adriene (2016)
* Jay Shetty (2018)
* Jay Shetty (2019)
* Chloe Ting (2020)
* Doctor Mike (2021)
* Doctor Mike (2022)
* Dr Julie (2023)

Kids and Family|

* Kids React (2014)
* What's Up Moms (2015)
* Kid President (2016)
* Brooklyn & Bailey (2017)
* Guava Juice (2018)
* JoJo Siwa (2019)
* Ryan's World (2020)
* The LaBrant Fam (2021)
* Rebecca Zamolo (2022)
* Ms. Rachel (2023)

Learning or Education‡|

* Vsauce (2014)
* Vsauce (2015)
* Laci Green (2016)
* Veritasium (2017)
* Marques Brownlee (2018)
* Mark Rober (2019)
* Mark Rober (2020)
* Veritasium (2021)
* Tom Scott (2022)
* TierZoo (2023)

Lifestyle|

* iJustine (2015)
* GloZell Green (2016)
* LaurDIY (2017)
* Merrell Twins (2018)
* Bretman Rock (2019)
* Larray (2020)
* Addison Rae (2021)
* Charli D'Amelio (2022)
* AMP (2023)

News‡|

* Alive in Baghdad (2009)
* Auto-Tune the News (2010)
* The Philip DeFranco Show (2013)
* SourceFed (2014)
* The Young Turks (2015)
* The Philip DeFranco Show (2016)
* The Young Turks (2017)
* The Philip DeFranco Show (2018)
* The Philip DeFranco Show (2019)
* HasanAbi (2020)
* Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan (2021)
* HasanAbi (2022)
* HasanAbi (2023)

Science and Engineering|

* Mark Rober (2021)
* Mark Rober (2022)
* I Did a Thing (2023)

Sports|

* Red Bull (2014)
* Dude Perfect (2015)
* 30 for 30 Shorts (2016)
* Cold As Balls (2018)
* Ryan Garcia (2020)
* Deestroying (2021)
* Jesser (2022)
* Jesser (2023)

Technology|

* Marques Brownlee (2019)
* Marques Brownlee (2020)
* Mrwhosetheboss (2021)
* Mrwhosetheboss (2022)
* Marques Brownlee (2023)

† = category was merged from others ‡ = category was renamed

* v
* t
* e

ESPN original programming

Scheduled shows|

* 30 for 30
* Around the Horn
* ESPN Bet Live
* College Football Live
* E:60
* First Take
* ESPN Major League Baseball
* NBA Today
* NBA on ESPN
* ABC
* Wednesday
* Friday
* Saturday
* Sunday
* NFL on ESPN
* ABC
* Monday Night Football
* Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli
* NHL on ESPN
* ABC
* Pardon the Interruption
* SportsCenter
* The Pat McAfee Show
* They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce
* Thursday Night Showcase
* WNBA on ESPN

Pregame and postgame|

* Baseball Tonight
* Big Monday
* College Football Final
* College GameDay Football
* College GameDay Basketball
* College Football Scoreboard
* ESPN College Football Saturday Primetime
* ESPN College Football Thursday Primetime
* ESPN Megacast
* Monday Night Baseball
* Monday Night Countdown
* NBA Countdown
* NFL Insiders
* NFL Live
* NFL Matchup
* NFL Primetime
* Saturday Primetime
* Sunday NFL Countdown
* Sunday Night Baseball
* Super Tuesday
* Wednesday Night Baseball
* Wednesday Night Hoops

Former programming|

* Arena Football League on ESPN
* AWA Championship Wrestling
* Beg, Borrow & Deal
* Bonds on Bonds
* Bound for Glory
* Boxing on ESPN
* The Bronx Is Burning
* Cheap Seats
* The Contender
* Cycling on ESPN
* Dream Job
* ESPN SpeedWorld
* ESPN Sunday Night Football
* Global Supercard Wrestling
* Highly Questionable
* IndyCar Series on ESPN
* I'd Do Anything
* Jim Rome Is Burning
* The Jump
* Knight School
* MISL on ESPN
* MLS on ESPN
* NASCAR Countdown
* NASCAR on ESPN
* NASL on ESPN
* Nine for IX
* Outside the Lines
* Playmakers
* Shaquille
* SpeedWeek
* SportsCentury
* SportsNation
* The Sports Reporters
* Stump the Schwab
* Tilt
* The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame...
* This Just In with Max Kellerman
* 2 Minute Drill
* Up Close
* USFL on ESPN
* World Cup Live

Upcoming|

* Inside the NBA (2025)

* List of programs broadcast by ESPN

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template