SHAKE IT OFF
The first two series of Sunderland ‘Til I Die were epic. Car-crash documentary television at its finest, full of real-life characters with self-awareness levels so low they would put Alan Partridge or Richard Keys to shame [EDM continues]. But as every footy-doc fan now knows, it’s never as good when the team is winning. Try watching five minutes of the ultra-drab Amazon All Or Nothing Manchester City documentary without dozing off and you’ll see the difference. Sunderland ‘Til I Die’s genius was in its frightening lack of PR airbrushing, allowing the audience the popcorn-eating pleasure of sitting back and watching things go calamitously wrong, like Dad’s Army for real. “We needed a series three to see Sunderland winning,” declared the show’s producer Gabe Turner upon the release of this latest batch of episodes, which chart the club’s successful 2021-22 season in League One. Really? Well … perhaps Sunderland fans needed that pay-off after the endless taunts from rivals up and down the country as a result of the first two series.
