Raleigh news station to release own version of Bill Belichick, UNC documentary

Following a recent report that North Carolina and Hulu are no longer moving forward with a documentary covering Bill Belichick‘s first season in charge of the program, plans for a new documentary have been announced. So fans may yet get a glimpse behind the curtain.

WRAL, which has been active covering the program through its various ups and downs in recent weeks, announced in a lengthy article discussing some of the particulars of the Hulu deal that it will air its own documentary. Details are scant, but the promise of some behind-the-scenes footage is there.

The outlet wrote the following. It was short but to the point: “WRAL News is planning to release a documentary on Belichick’s first year at UNC at the end of the year.”

What kind of access and footage WRAL will have remains to be seen. The original deal with Hulu had several stipulations about access.

WRAL reported on much of that, as well as some of the potential reasons behind the cancellation or pause of the planned Hulu documentary. Inside Carolina also confirmed the halt in production.

Originally, Bill Belichick had been in on the project, which was set to feature his first year with the program. Things have obviously gone south for the program since, as the team has struggled on the field and there have been various reports of discord behind the scenes.

“I’m excited to share with you that we will be doing that with EverWonder and Hulu that will showcase our football program,” Bill Belichick said in a video released on social media in August. “This is about the UNC football program. There’s obviously a lot of interest in it, and it will stream on Hulu later this fall.

“It’s gonna feature the players working hard, which you guys do. It’s about the players improving and getting better through their hard work, which you do. And a program starting from where it started from several months ago to wherever it’s gonna do during the course of the season, which, of course, we determine on the field. It’ll show our commitment to winning, it’ll show our commitment to the team, and that’s our priority.”

North Carolina was 2-3 on the season when the news of the halt or pause with Hulu was announced. WRAL obtained the contract the university signed with EverWonder Studio, shedding more light on what might have happened.

Bill Belichick had the contractual right to end his participation in the documentary. The series, per WRAL’s reporting, was “contingent upon Coach Belichick’s participation” and both parties had the right to terminate the agreement if Belichick didn’t provide EverWonder with the necessary permissions, revoked those permissions, or notified that he would not participate in the production.