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ESPN’s newest ESPN Original Series Believers: Boston Red Sox premieres today on the ESPN App for subscribers to an ESPN Unlimited plan. Directed by Gotham Chopra and Lauren Fisher, executive produced by Ben Affleck, and produced by Religion of Sports and Artists Equity, the three-part series tells the story of how, for 86 years, the Red Sox broke the spirits of generations of their most devoted followers, falling short of a championship in heartbreaking and unforgettable fashion, time and time again. Yet through every collapse, every missed chance, and every season of disappointment, Boston fans held on to an unshakable belief that redemption would come.

Featuring appearances and commentary from Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Katie Nolan, Bill Burr, Donnie Wahlberg, Uzo Aduba, Sam Jay, Maria Menounos, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, along with members of the 2004 Red Sox roster including Johnny Damon, Curt Schilling, David Ortiz, Kevin Millar, and Bronson Arroyo, Believers chronicles how that enduring faith, a remarkable group of players, and a city ready for change came together to break one of the most notorious curses in sports. The series follows Boston’s improbable 2004 postseason run through the lens of the franchise’s complex history and the city’s passionate culture, capturing the defining moments when belief and extraordinary talent finally rewarded the city’s long-suffering faithful. In doing so, the Red Sox did more than win a championship—they redefined what it meant to believe, both on the field and in the hearts of an entire fanbase.

“Working with Religion of Sports has been a dream,” said Affleck. “It’s a pleasure to be in the company of those who share some of my most painful and joyful memories…the drama of this story still resonates for me after two decades and is emblematic of the way sports brings out some combination of the best and worst and truest parts of us — and the mosaic formed from all those moments, looked at these years later, seems to me a window into the drama of what it can feel like, once in a lifetime if we’re lucky, to be a human being.” 

“Having grown up in Boston as a diehard Sox fan, I know there is a before 2004 and after 2004. My personal, professional, and spiritual journey is defined by that moment in time,” said Gotham Chopra, co-founder of Religion of Sports and co-director of the series. “Having gotten to know and collaborate with Ben Affleck, it became clear that he shares the same faith. This series is an homage to all the true believers out there – even beyond Sox fans (but not the Yankees).”

“Some sports fandoms transcend and become more like a religion, with Red Sox Nation as the prime example,” said Lauren Fisher, co-director of the series. “Believers shows how decades of devotion, heartbreak and history shaped not just the team, but the soul of Boston.”

Episode Descriptions

• Episode 1: Doubt
  Throughout history, Red Sox fans have bonded through heartbreak. From the Bambino to Bucky Dent, to Buckner and Boone, Bostonians suffered decades of agonizing defeats. The 2004 Red Sox finally had a team poised to challenge the dynastic Yankees and deliver a World Series to Boston. After quickly falling to a 3-0 series deficit in the ALCS to the Bronx Bombers, it appeared to be yet another year of let down in Beantown, until one moment began to change the course of history.
  
• Episode 2: Hope
  Boston is a paradox. A city of revolutionaries, transcendentalists and progressives, as well as a city scarred by a history of social and economic discrimination. Against this backdrop was a baseball team that served as a great unifier, while suffering from the same sins, explained away by a mythic 86-year-old curse. The 2004 Red Sox represented everything Boston hoped to be. With their season hanging in the balance, the team of self-proclaimed ‘idiots’ began to chip away at the Yankees veil of immortality and provided the fan base with a new hope.
  
• Episode 3: Transcendence
  While Red Sox fans anxiously awaited the next form in which misery would once again seal their fate, new myths were born, but this time carried the Red Sox to a comeback that transcended baseball – exorcising an 86-year-old curse that defined and haunted generations of Sox fans. Faith and belief had finally been rewarded. Now, the fan base faces a new reality where suffering is no longer the badge they bear, but the pressure of winning is. How do fans make sense of this? No one knows, but it sure beats losing.

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About ESPN Originals
ESPN Originals are premium programs that take fans inside the biggest moments, athletes, and stories in sports. With critically acclaimed, award-winning series — including the Emmy®-winning Man in the Arena: Tom Brady, Peyton’s Places and the Places universe, In the Arena: Serena Williams, Full Court Press, and Clutch: The NBA Playoffs — ESPN Originals deliver bold perspectives and unparalleled access to the narratives that define the modern sports world. 

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Press Contacts
Garrett Cowan | [email protected]
Jay Jay Nesheim | [email protected]