Fever Pitch: The Rise of the Premier League

Name: Fever Pitch: The Rise of the Premier League
Genre: History, Business of soccer, Social issues
Released: 2021

13+Best for tweens & teensIMDb 7.6

Watch the trailer

This BBC Two series explains where the Premier League came from, opening with English football at its lowest point in the mid-1980s and running through the £300 million Sky deal that changed what the sport was worth. Players, executives and broadcasters from the period tell the story, David Beckham among them. Two seasons of four episodes each.

Why we picked it

Every American family watching the Premier League on a Saturday morning is watching the result of a business decision made in 1992, and this is the series that lays it out plainly. It also explains why English clubs ended up with the money, which sits behind almost every other title on this list.

History Business of soccer Social issues

Trailer

Parent check

Best for: 13+Tweens & teens
Rated: Not Rated
The numbers: IMDb 7.6/10 (940 ratings)
Heads-up: Heavy topics. Covers heavy real-world subjects (loss, hardship). Good to watch alongside a kid.not reviewed by CSM · Archive footage of the 1985 Heysel disaster and of hooligan violence in English grounds, plus period language. Note: this is the BBC Two series, not the 1997 British film or the 2005 Jimmy Fallon comedy of the same name.