After a two-year hiatus of filming with players, the highly acclaimed three-part series returns this week.
Episode one will debut on Wednesday, April 27 at 7:00 pm. It will follow four of the Bills' offensive playmakers in their hometowns showcasing the work they have put in during the offseason.
"We were excited to expand the series beyond the draft again and give our fans that behind-the-scenes exclusive look at what our players are up to in the offseason," Michelle Girardi Zumwalt, Supervising Producer for Pegula Sports and Entertainment said. "We traveled down to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Sanford, Florida along with Nashville, Tennessee to meet with several of our players in the first episode.
"The arc of the first episode takes us from the end of the 2021 season to present-day—the cusp of the draft. The main characters ended up being Isaiah McKenzie, Devin Singletary, and Gabriel Davis in Florida, and then we also spent a few days with Dawson Knox and his family to capture his offseason routine."
In his postseason comments, general manager Brandon Beane acknowledged the disappointment of the playoff loss in Kansas City and called for a "reset" to reassess and refocus efforts on the upcoming season. Despite being in different locations, the players filmed for the episode had a singular focus on being in the best shape possible for voluntary workouts in April. You'll see the different approaches players took to both training and downtime, their reactions to Beane's free agency moves, and the bond they share with their teammates on and off the field.
"One of the other best parts was seeing how naturally Gabe Davis and Isaiah McKenzie communicate with each other," Girardi Zumwalt said. "They FaceTime each other a lot and so it was fun to see the relationships between the guys even if they weren't in the room together. Because they each knew the other would be in the episode, I think they saw it as a challenge to one-up each other. It was all in good fun.
"They'd be working out and Gabe would joke, 'Isaiah could never handle this workout.' It's just fun to see that camaraderie between them and how strong it is even in the offseason. That said, every guy we spent time with was open to us capturing all the details of their daily routines. What you're getting is an accurate portrayal of who they are and how they spend their time."
The NFL's Covid restrictions limited the amount of contact the production team had with the players throughout the past two seasons. So, everyone who worked to put this series together is ecstatic that they are back in full swing and could provide fans with exclusive access.
"In order to pull this off though it was it's a total collaboration between multiple departments. From our associate producers at the Bills to our PSE producers and creative department. In addition, no one would know to watch without the promotional efforts of our marketing and social media departments. The business development team secured the On Location sponsorship and our media relations department coordinated the shoots with each player.
"We have multiple editors cutting on the show," Girardi Zumwalt said. "Those editors jump in and cut individual scenes and then Andy Quinn at PSE is our main show editor who is compiling everything and making sure that it all feels like one cohesive show despite multiple people editing it. So, it's a really fun, collaborative process putting it together."
Be sure to subscribe to the Buffalo Bills YouTube page to catch the first episode on Wednesday. Episodes two and three will be released throughout the spring and summer. They will focus on the NFL Draft and the players during OTA and minicamp practices.
