EXCLUSIVE: Hello Sunshine, along with Ally and the Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ If/Then Initiative, revealed the premiere of The Rise, a five-part documentary series capturing the growth of women’s professional sports. The first two films in the series land on Peacock on December 15, 2025, with additional features rolling out in 2026.
Hello Sunshine’s documentary crews have been embedded with leagues and players, capturing some of the biggest moments in the history of women’s sports. From the inaugural year of the Professional Women’s Hockey League to the ratings phenomenon of the 2024 season of the WNBA and more, the films will explore the surge in viewership and feature interviews with athletes.
“We all know that the popularity of women’s sports has exploded, changing the landscape of sports at large. Being behind the scenes with some of the best athletes in the world during this seismic shift has been a dream come true,” said Sara Rea, Head of Unscripted at Hello Sunshine. “I am grateful to Ally and Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ If/Then Initiative for believing in and sharing our mission to tell these stories. Peacock is the perfect home for these one-of-a-kind documentaries that capture pivotal and sometimes private moments in the history of women’s sports.”
The first feature-length documentary coming to Peacock Dec. 15 is WNBA 2024; The Year That Changed Everything. The film will take viewers into the season that women’s basketball broke into the mainstream with sold-out arenas, spikes in merch sales and explosive social viewership. Game footage as well as interviews with Candace Parker who also executive produces, Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, Terri Jackson, Jane McManus, Kristina Williams and Monica McNutt.
Taj Paxton directed and also executive produced WNBA 2024, and additional executive producers include Patty Ivins Specht, Azon Juan, and Juaquin Cambron and Talent Producer Melissa Chusid.
The New Moneyball is the other documentary film arriving on Peacock Dec. 15, and it will examine how the seemingly “overnight success” of women’s professional sports was really 50 years in the making, highlighting investors and athletes alike. The film will also feature Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, Jane McManus, Kristina Williams and Monica McNutt in addition to Emma Hayes, Ilona Maher, Ari Chambers, NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman, Deloitte US Chair Lara Abrash, Laura Gentile, Andrea Brimmer and Bridget Sponsky,.
The remaining three films have yet to be dated, but will arrive on the streamer in 2026.
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The Inaugural Season of the PWHL documents a the group of elite female ice hockey players — Olympians and World Champions — who fought for a league for years. When they caught the attention of Billie Jean King and Dodger’s owner Mark Walter after years of struggle, a new professional women’s hockey league was born. The documentary follows the inaugural season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the athletes who drove it to the first championship. The Inaugural Season of the PWHL will feature Billie Jean King, Alex Carpenter, Aerin Frankel, Sophie Jaques, Brianne Jenner, Stan Kasten, Hilary Knight, Ilana Kloss, Marie-Philip Poulin, Amy Scheer, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Natalie Spooner. It is directed and executive produced by Patty Ivins Specht (Billie Jean King’s Groundbreakers (PBS) Wynonna Judd: Between Hell & Hallelujah (P+)). Additional executive producers include Gina Matthews, Grant Scharbo, Billie Jean King, Ilana Kloss, Jayna Hefford, Amy Scheer, Kasey Barrett, and Azon Juan.
The Gold Medal Girls of X Games explores the world of Southern California skate culture following four teenagers on the road to the 2024 X Games. The documentary features Featuring Tony Hawk, Arisa Trew, Shiloh Catori, Reese Nelson, Jada Ward, Amelia Brodka, Lyn-Z Hawkins Pastrana, Selema Masakela, and Trevor Ward.
Last but not least, The Women of NASCAR zooms into the high-octane world of the ARCA Menards Series—where four fearless women suit up, strap in and fight for every inch of asphalt in a very male-dominated grid and unforgiving racing arena. The Women of NASCAR features Lesa France Kennedy, Amber Balcaen, Isabella Robusto, Taylor Reimer, Jamie Little, and Billy Venturini. The film is Executive Produced by Hayley Pappas (Breath of Fire, White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch). Additional executive producers include Patty Ivins Specht, Tim Clark, and John Dahl.
Hello Sunshine’s Reese Witherspoon, Sara Rea, Zoe Fairbourn, Sue Kinkead, Lyda Hill, Ty O’Neil, and Nicole Small will serve as executive producers for all projects with Ashlyn Harris serving as a consulting producer across all five documentaries.
Ally is home to the nation’s largest all-digital bank. In addition to pursuing parity in its media spend between men’s and women’s sports, Ally has partnerships with the NWSL and NWSL Players Association, the WNBA and 2025 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, Unrivaled (the professional three-on-three basketball league), the United States Golf Association (where it is presenting sponsor of the U.S. Women’s Open), the Atlantic Coast Conference (including presenting sponsorship of the ACC Women’s Basketball tournament), the Ally Tipoff (a premier women’s college basketball showcase), and several player-direct relationships, among others.
This is Hello Sunshine’s latest unscripted series centering women’s sports following Women’s Sports Now (Roku), F1: The Academy (Netflix), and Surf Girls (Amazon Prime).
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