If non-sports fanatics know one thing about football, it’s the importance of the quarterback. Perhaps it is from the countless portrayals of quarterbacks in pop culture throughout the years: Burt Reynolds’s Paul Crewe in The Longest Yard, Zach Gilford’s Matt Saracen in Friday Night Lights, Jamie Foxx’s Willie Beamen in Any Given Sunday. The word has seeped from the sports area into everyday language: The dictionary defines the position not only as an offensive back in football, but also as simply “one who directs and leads.” 

The series Quarterback explores both meanings of the word, as filmmakers follow NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota, showcasing exactly what it means to exemplify the role. Quarterback goes where no football documentary has in the past; the NFL allowed for the players to be mic’d each game of the season, giving the audience the chance to be in the helmet with them as they make calls on the field. The cameras follow the players home, too, offering a glimpse of what these leaders are like when the jersey comes off and life unfolds. 

Behind the project is Omaha Productions, Peyton Manning’s entertainment company. Few would be better suited to produce a sports series about quarterbacks than the two-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. “We’ve certainly seen training camp,” says Manning of previous football coverage. “But we’ve never followed a quarterback throughout the entire season to see what he does Sunday night after a big win, after a brutal loss on a last-second field goal, what they do on Mondays and Tuesdays on their off days. Are they hanging out? Are they playing golf? Are they in the weight room grinding for that next game?”