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Prime Video Releases Trailer for Good Rivals and Announces November 24 Premiere Date
Prime Video Sports also unveils episode descriptions for the three-part docuseries about the rivalry between the Mexican and American men’s national soccer teams
Watch the Official Trailer HERE
Good Rivals Information and Assets Available HERE
CULVER CITY, California—November 3, 2022—Today, Prime Video Sports announced a November 24 premiere date and released the trailer for Good Rivals (previously titled Good Neighbors), a three-part docuseries about one of the most unique and intense competitions in international sports: The rivalry between the Mexican and American men’s national soccer teams. The trailer will also air in its entirety during tonight’s Thursday Night Football broadcast.
Good Rivals will peel back the political, social, and sporting layers of a rivalry that has become must-see TV over the past 30 years. Far more than just a sports documentary, Good Rivals spotlights the personal and professional arcs of stars from each nation, like Landon Donovan (United States) and Rafa Márquez (Mexico), who became symbols of their country’s cultures during their respective careers in the early and mid 2000s. Good Rivals will also examine the passionate, international battle for on-field talent and fan support that has made the U.S.-Mexico border one of the most fascinating soccer frontiers in the world, with players—and families—from both countries becoming the focus of recruiting battles between these two deeply interconnected nations. The men’s national teams from both the U.S. and Mexico qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off later this month.
Good Rivals is executive produced by Skydance Sports’ David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, and Jon Weinbach; Meadowlark Media’s John Skipper and Deirdre Fenton; and Ocellated Media’s Dante Möller. Good Rivals is a co-production from Prime Video Sports and Skydance Sports, with Meadowlark Media and Ocellated producing. The series is directed by Academy Award-nominated Nicaraguan filmmaker Gabriel Serra, and will feature a wide variety of American and Mexican perspectives, with episodes accessible for both English- and Spanish-speaking audiences.
Episode Descriptions:
Episode 101
The U.S. became a global superpower during the 20th century, but Mexico took pride in dominating the U.S. in one realm where it had clear superiority: soccer. It was the national sport of Mexico, which hosted memorable World Cups in 1970 and 1986, and the U.S. failed to beat Mexico in 24 straight games from 1937 to 1980. But the tide turned in the 1990s, as the U.S. hosted World Cup 1994 and—under the guidance of Bora Milutinović, who had previously coached Mexico—started winning big games against its southern neighbor. A real rivalry was born. Two superstars, Mexico’s Rafa Márquez––whose grandfather abandoned the family to move to the U.S.––and American Landon Donovan, a working-class, wildly talented striker from Southern California, would emerge to help define the rivalry at the start of the new century.
Episode 102
The most important game in the history of the U.S.-Mexico soccer rivalry took place at World Cup 2002, where the U.S. won 2-0 to eliminate Mexico from the planet’s biggest sporting event and reach the quarterfinals. Over the next decade, both teams held serve in their mystique-filled fortresses of Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca and Columbus, Ohio’s Crew Stadium, with Landon Donovan and Rafa Márquez leading their respective countries’ national teams. They had low moments, too. Márquez, the elegant defender who became one of his country’s greatest soccer exports in Europe’s top leagues, was ejected from the 2002 World Cup match for a vicious foul, while Donovan took a sabbatical for mental-health reasons that resulted in him being dropped from the 2014 World Cup roster by U.S. manager Jürgen Klinsmann. The rivalry would climax again in 2016, when, three days after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency amid a wave of anti-Mexico sentiment, the U.S. and Mexico met in Ohio in a dramatic World Cup qualifying game––and Mexico would finally break the “Curse of Columbus” thanks to a late goal from Márquez.
Episode 103
As U.S. soccer star Landon Donovan connected more with Mexico, playing for Club León and cheering for Mexico in a controversial ad campaign, he also faced criticism for supporting his nation’s biggest soccer rival. After Donovan’s retirement, the U.S. national team regressed, failing to make the 2018 World Cup, while Mexico’s soccer federation intensified efforts to recruit Mexican-Americans for its national team. Current “dual-national” players like Americans Obed Vargas, Efraín Álvarez, and Ricardo Pepi––and their families––now have to make difficult decisions about which country they will represent in international soccer. Across the Atlantic, Rafa Márquez begins a new chapter coaching in Spain, and the U.S.-Mexico rivalry remains as dramatic as ever, with a new generation of players facing off in key qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. And all the while, the business of soccer is bringing the Good Rivals even closer, as the U.S. and Mexico prepare to co-host World Cup 2026 with Canada.
About Prime Video Sports
Prime Video supports a growing lineup of live sports globally, including Thursday Night Football, the WNBA, the Seattle Storm, the New York Yankees, and Seattle Sounders FC in the United States; Premier League in the United Kingdom; US Open Tennis, ATP, and WTA in the United Kingdom and Ireland; UEFA Champions League football in Germany and Italy; Roland Garros and Ligue 1 in France; Australian Swimming globally; and New Zealand Cricket in India. While availability varies by marketplace, fans can also subscribe to streaming services such as Eurosport, FOX Sports (Mexico), LaLigaTV, MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, NBA TV, and Premiere FC (Brazil) through Prime Video Channels. This is in addition to a selection of Amazon Original All or Nothing sports docuseries including All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur, All or Nothing: Juventus, All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, and All or Nothing seasons with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as the NCAA’s Michigan Wolverines football team.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.
About Skydance Sports
Launched by Skydance in 2021, Skydance Sports is a preeminent sports-content studio that develops and produces premium scripted and unscripted sports-related content, documentaries, and events. Skydance Sports is currently in production on two projects for Prime Video: the docuseries Good Rivals and an untitled film starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and directed by Affleck. Additionally, Skydance Sports has strategic partnerships with Meadowlark Media, Religion of Sports, and Zebra Valley to develop and produce sports-related content.
Skydance is the diversified media company founded by David Ellison in 2010 to create high-quality, event-level entertainment for global audiences. The Company first launched with Feature Films and has since strategically expanded to include television, interactive, animation, new media, and sports, with studios in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Spain, and Canada.
About Meadowlark Media
Meadowlark Media is a content studio and creator network focused on premium storytelling. In January 2021, John Skipper, former ESPN President, and Dan Le Batard, the host of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz and leading Hispanic voice on sports and culture, founded the company. Through its partnerships with industry-leading storytellers, Meadowlark develops premium content across all formats for third party buyers with an initial focus on sports.
About Ocellated Media
Ocellated Media is a full-service media company with a wide range of expertise, specialized in original content development, production services, and brand strategy in Latin American and the U.S. Hispanic markets. Based in Mexico City, Ocellated is led by executives and creatives with deep relationships and a track record of success developing and producing content for the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets.
Social Handles:
Prime Video
Instagram: @PrimeVideo
Twitter: @PrimeVideo
Facebook: @PrimeVideo
Prime Video Media Contacts:
Ben Brown | ben.brown@amazonstudios.com
Meadowlark Media Contact:
media@meadowlark-media.com
- Good Rivals | Season 1