Celtics City - Season 1
Season 1
Featuring never-before-seen archival footage and over 80 interviews with past and present Boston Celtics legends – from Bob Cousy and Larry Bird to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown – the series captures the scope of the team's influence, weaving together the personalities, battles, tragedies, and triumphs that have defined the franchise across more than seven decades of American history.
Moving between past and present, each episode of the series examines not just the many eras of the franchise's history, but also rivalries with the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, and others; the relationships and loyalty shared by teammates; and the weight and expectations that come with carrying on a tradition that transcends the game. The series also explores the Celtics' significance in the ever-changing landscape of Boston – a city with a complex social history impacted by racial tensions that the Celtics, led by figures like Bill Russell, confronted head-on.
Episodes
Chapter I: Founding Fathers
As the Boston Celtics celebrate their record 18th NBA title, the franchise's origins are traced back to the arrival of Red Auerbach in 1950, and his uncompromising vision for success. Auerbach makes history by drafting Chuck Cooper, the NBA's first Black player, and builds a powerhouse led by Bob Cousy and Bill Russell. When Cousy retires in 1963, the team has six championships, but racial tensions in Boston and beyond augur a tumultuous era ahead.
Chapter II: No Final Victories
At the peak of the civil rights movement, with segregation persisting in Boston, Bill Russell inserts himself into the struggle, drawing backlash and death threats. Yet the winning continues, with Russell making more history when he replaces Auerbach to become the team's player-coach – the first Black head coach in professional sports. It all culminates with an 11th title in 13 years in 1969 in a dramatic seven-game series against Wilt Chamberlain and the Lakers.
Chapter III: All Swept Up
Against the backdrop of the controversial Boston busing mandate and racial unrest in the city, the Celtics return to glory with a pair of championships in the 1970's thanks to players including John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Paul Silas, and Jo Jo White. The team fades towards the end of the decade before Auerbach pulls off another brilliant move, drafting an Indiana State star named Larry Bird.
Chapter IV: Great Hope, Period
Larry Bird arrives in Boston as a beacon of hope for a city still grappling with racial tensions and its identity in flux. His blend of talent and tenacity embodies Boston's working-class ethos, while his rivalry with Magic Johnson and battles against Julius Erving help revive a struggling NBA and elevate it to new heights. With the additions of Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, Bird helps lead the Celtics to their 14th championship in 1981. However, internal discord threatens to derail another potential dynasty.
Chapter V: F**k the Celtics
As the Celtics and Lakers battle for basketball supremacy, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson's rivalry captivates the sports world. The Celtics and the Lakers trade titles in epic showdowns as the teams' racial identities fuel complex conversations about Boston's lingering reputation. In 1986, Bird helps lead the Celtics to one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history, but then an unthinkable tragedy changes everything.
Chapter VI: Untenable Toll
The tragic death of Len Bias after the 1986 draft casts a shadow over the Celtics, and Larry Bird's style of play begins to take its toll – all as new rivals emerge with the Celtics going head-to-head with the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons in a heated 1987 playoff series before ultimately falling to Magic Johnson and the Lakers in the Finals. Bird fights through pain to extend his career, but in 1992, he retires and closes a historic chapter for the Celtics and the NBA.
Chapter VII: Not Again
As the Celtics struggle to find a new identity with young Black stars, Reggie Lewis appears poised to lead their resurgence before his sudden death leaves the franchise and city in mourning again. Even the arrival of new team president and coach Rick Pitino in 1997 doesn't help as the team spirals into crisis, decline, and then irrelevance. One month before the 2000-01 season, promising forward Paul Pierce is left clinging for his life after being stabbed in a Boston nightclub. Fans are left to wonder if the Celtics will ever rise again.
Chapter VIII: Ubuntu
A new century brings new hope: Paul Pierce survives his stabbing and emerges as the team's franchise cornerstone, leading Boston back to the playoffs alongside fellow star Antoine Walker. After another downturn, former Celtic Danny Ainge takes over as GM and makes a bold series of moves to acquire Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, forming a new "Big Three" with Pierce. With head coach Doc Rivers at the helm, the Celtics reclaim their dominance in 2008, defeating Kobe Bryant's Lakers in the NBA Finals to capture their 17th championship.
Chapter IX: We're the Celtics
Following the 2008 title, injuries, age, and internal conflict take their toll. Though the Celtics return to the Finals in 2010, Danny Ainge quickly pivots to a new era. Soon, rising stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are tasked with carrying the weight of the franchise's storied tradition and the city's complex racial history. In 2024, under Ainge's replacement Brad Stevens and head coach Joe Mazzulla, the team captures its record-breaking 18th championship, embodying the legacy of Red Auerbach and Bill Russell as one of the greatest dynasties in sports history.
Recently Updated Shows
The Creep Tapes
Based on a collection of videotapes in the secret vault of the world's deadliest and most socially uncomfortable serial killer, who hires his victims to film him for the day under false pretenses, each episode exposes a new victim from one of the fabled 'Creep Tapes'.
America's Funniest Home Videos
ABC's longest-running primetime entertainment show, America's Funniest Home Videos, returns for season 36 this fall with the same mission -- giving families something genuinely funny to enjoy together on Sunday nights.
"AFV," the longest-running primetime entertainment show in ABC history, returns for season 36 with the same mission - to provide viewers with hysterical moments that fly by at a dizzying pace.
The Real Housewives of Potomac
Just up the river from our nation's capital lies a hidden gem—Potomac, Maryland. Its rolling hills, gated mansions, sophisticated prep schools, and exclusive country clubs all serve to keep the area invitation-only. Sprinkled throughout this community are a handful of old-line, wealthy African-American families who have historically broken racial barriers to provide a life of privilege for their children. The Real Housewives of Potomac follows the upscale lives of six intriguing, well-to-do women: Gizelle Bryant, Katie Rost, Karen Huger, Charrisse Jackson-Jordan, Robyn Dixon, and Ashley Darby, all of whom have fought for their places in this society by way of legacy or marriage. In a town where entry is granted only through class, pedigree, and lineage, how far will these ladies go to secure their spot at the top of this prestigious circle?
The Traitors Canada
Follow a group of contestants – including some familiar faces – who live together as they complete a series of challenges with the goal of earning a cash prize. The catch? Some of the contestants are traitors who will attempt to deceive and manipulate their way to the prize instead of sharing it amongst the group. In this psychological adventure will the traitors be unmasked in time?
