Fleetwood Mac’s iconic album Rumours will turn 50 next year, and a new Apple TV documentary from director Frank Marshall is on the way about the band, though it doesn’t sound like it’ll be on the 2026 television schedule. Fleetwood Mac has stayed remarkably relevant for decades, even going viral in recent years with their song “Dreams” from Rumours when it was added to a vibe-y skateboarding video.
I have complicated feelings about “The Mac” because I find some of their most famous music a little cheesy (though as I age, I like it more), but I adore the early bluesy stuff with founder Peter Green. That’s why I’m a little disappointed in what the documentary sounds like it will focus on.
Fleetwood Mac Went Through A Lot Of Versions
Over the years, especially from the late ‘60s, when the original version of Fleetwood Mac formed (originally known as Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac), until the mid-’70s, the band underwent a lot of changes. The original band was a blues band formed by guitarist and singer Peter Green, bass player John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood. They had a few hits in those early days, including the rockin’ “Oh Well” and the original “Black Magic Woman.”
In 1970, Green left the group he had founded, and John McVie’s wife, Christine McVie, joined as a songwriter, singer and keyboard player. Over the next few years, there was a lot of turnover, especially on guitar, before the band finally settled on a lineup that included Fleetwood, the two McVies, plus Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. This is the lineup most everyone thinks of when they think of the band. The second album released by this lineup was Rumours, which became one of the best-selling albums in history, spawned a slew of hits, and has inspired countless artists.
It Seems The Documentary Will Focus Entirely On The Buckingham/Nicks Era
Here’s where it gets tricky for me. While I totally understand why Marshall and the band would want to focus solely on the era of the band, as it is by far the most famous version of Fleetwood Mac, I’m disappointed that it sounds like the early days, the music I truly love from the band could be quickly glossed over or ignored completely. I love a good band origin story, and without Peter Green’s version of the band, we’d be getting an incomplete story.
Again, it makes sense to rush through that, as most people aren’t as interested in that period of the band’s history. But in truth, there are a ton of books, documentaries and Behind the Musics about the legendarily fraught recording sessions of Rumours. The McVies were breaking up, as were Buckingham and Nicks (who were a couple when they joined the band). Every member of the band has discussed the album at length. It’s one of the most well-known stories in rock and roll history. This era was even what Daisy Jones And The Six was loosely based on.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still excited to see where the film goes, especially because it has the backing of all the living members (Green died in 2020 and Christine McVie passed away in 2022). So I can’t wait to fire up my Apple TV subscription when its released, but a big part of me will lament if the early days are ignored.
