Credit: Allstar Picture Library Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo / AA Film Archive
Netflix is set to release a new documentary on Elvis Presley, What’s on Netflix has learned. It’ll be helmed by Jason Hehir, best known for The Last Dance, which was a co-production between ESPN and Netflix that was released in 2020, and more recently, Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, and Reckoning for HBO.
Hehir’s Little Room Films is behind the new documentary, which was acquired by Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company late last year. Production on the documentary has been ongoing since early 2023. Chernin and Netflix collaborate on several projects, with Chernin Entertainment having worked under a first-look film deal since April 2020.
The yet-to-be-titled documentary will focus on the legendary singer and actor using an abundance of archival footage detailing the life and career of the artist, who ultimately passed away at the age of 42.
Photo credit: Thom Stukas / Boston.com
Jason Hehir recently discussed working on the new documentary on an NPR podcast called Attribution with Bob McKinnon.
Speaking briefly about the upcoming documentary, Hehir said, “I’ve been fascinated with that guy my whole life because I know there’s a human being underneath that two-dimensional facade we see culturally. It’s always been an interest of mine.”
The hour-long interview discussed many of the projects he’s worked on in the past, concluding with an insight into why he’s chosen Elvis Presley. His ultimate aim is to peel back the layers of well-known figures and stories to reveal the deeper, often unseen, aspects of their lives. This method suggests that the Elvis documentary will likely offer a fresh perspective on the iconic musician’s life, focusing on the man behind the myth.
Hehir also discussed his time working on The Last Dance for both ESPN and Netflix. Describing the complex nature of the docu-series, Hehir said, “We had four multi-billion dollar entities who all were used to getting their way at all times giving us notes on each episode… So we had ESPN, the NBA, the Jordan brand, and Netflix, all of whom are the 800-pound gorilla in the room kind of drawing and quartering us every time we turned in any document or any cut.”
This isn’t the only active project Netflix has with Hehir right now, who will be serving as an executive producer on a new TV mini-series that serves as a retrospective for the recent 2024 Olympics games following “potential medal contenders and promising hopefuls in men’s basketball as teams compete in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and qualifying events.” That project was announced in May 2024 and comes from Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, with Jake Rogal serving as showrunner.
Are you looking forward to the upcoming Elvis Presley documentary on Netflix? Let us know in the comments.
