Essendon Football Club, in conjunction with Foxtel and Kayo, will premiere a landmark eight-part documentary series showcasing the extraordinary history of the equal-most successful club in VFA/VFL/AFL as it approaches its historic 150th anniversary season.
The Bombers: Stories of a Great Club will screen on Fox Footy commencing Tuesday, October 19 (7:30pm AEST) with seven half-hour episodes to air on Tuesday evenings throughout October and November, culminating in a gripping one-hour final episode.
The documentary series provides viewers incredible insight into the entire football club, its people and their astonishing stories, both on and off the field across 150 years.
Reflecting on some of the greatest highs and devastating tragedies across the Bombers’ rich history, over 100 interviews were conducted and among those featured include club champions Jack Jones, Dick Reynolds, Tim Watson, Jobe Watson, Neale Daniher, Kevin Sheedy, James Hird, Bruce Reid, Harold Lambert, Ken Fraser, Mark Harvey, Simon Madden, Matthew Lloyd, Gavin Wanganeen and Dustin Fletcher, along with industry luminaries Dermott Brereton, David Parkin and Denis Pagan.
Produced by one of Australia’s greatest documentary makers, Neil Kearney, alongside executive producer and former esteemed head of sport at Channel Ten Dave Barham, production on The Bombers: Stories of a Great Club commenced in June, 2018.
Chief executive officer Xavier Campbell said the Australian football community would be captivated by the insight of the eight-part documentary.
“The Bombers: Stories of a Great Club is truly a landmark production in terms of the quality, research, time and effort invested into honouring and protecting our club’s proud history over 150 years and it will be a joy to be able to release this in conjunction with Foxtel and Kayo come October,” Campbell said.
“The sophistication of this production, two-and-a-half years in the making, ultimately reflects the respect the club has for not only our heroes of our past and present but also for our loyal members and supporters who have been with us for every high and low in this club’s rich history as we enter our anniversary year in 2022.
“The Bombers: Stories of a Great Club transcends our football club and will appeal to a broad audience, but it is an insightful documentary series that our members and supporters in particular will treasure for its powerful storytelling of our greatest heroes, triumphs and tragedies as the national club that we are.
“In particular, we would like to thank the Foxtel Group for their support of our production, as well as Endemol Shine, Kirsty Brown, Neil Kearney, Dave Barham and the club’s internal 150-year anniversary committee for bringing this compelling documentary series to life.
“2022 will be an incredibly special year as the Essendon Football Club honours its 150-year anniversary and we acknowledge the past and our rich history, but importantly, celebrate the exciting future of the mighty red and black for the next 150 years.”
Michael Neill, general manager Fox Footy said the documentary series was "must-watch viewing".
“The Essendon Football Club has a long and proud history so this series will be must-watch viewing for not only AFL supporters but sports fans in general,” Neill said.
“We’re excited to host such an in-depth documentary on Fox Footy and look forward to making the content available for our Foxtel and Kayo customers.”
The Bombers: Stories Of A Great Club will be available to watch on Fox Footy and Kayo.
- Episodes 1 & 2 – Oct 19, 7:30pm and 8pm AEST
- Episodes 3 & 4 – Oct 26, 7:30pm and 8pm AEST
- Episodes 5 & 6 – Nov 2, 7:30pm and 8pm AEST
- Episodes 7 & 8 – Nov 9, 7:30pm and 8pm AEDT
Essendon club members will receive a one-month Kayo voucher (new and returning Kayo subscribers) to watch the month-long release of the documentary.
