Glory Days of the Dallas Cowboys Are Coming to Netflix in a 10-Part Docuseries

It’s that magical time of year when all possibilities still exist for the Dallas Cowboys, and reality has yet to intrude to remind every long-suffering fan that, for the last three decades, the team has been the living embodiment of the descriptor “mid.”

The NFL released the Cowboys’ 2024 schedule on May 15 (this year’s march to playoff failu ... sorry, flawless run to Super Bowl glory, kicks off Sept. 8 against the Cleveland Browns), but another bit of Cowboys news caught our attention this week.

Netflix announced the same day that it would be joining forces with Skydance Sports, NFL Films and Stardust Frames Productions to present a documentary series that tells “the definitive story of Jerry Jones and his unique journey in transforming the Dallas Cowboys franchise,” according to an NFL statement.

The project isn’t new — news broke last year of a docuseries about Jerry Jones that was in the works and would include footage from the NFL Films archives.

“It’s a true honor to be the first to partner with Skydance Sports and NFL Films on this very special and deeply personal project,” said Charlotte Jones, Dallas Cowboys executive vice president and chief brand officer, in a 2023 statement. “Sharing my father’s journey and his passion for the game, while presenting it in partnership with this talented and accomplished group will take sports fans, fans of business, families and everyone watching on an adventure like none other.”

(I confess to snort-laughing reading Netflix’s breathless opening paragraph: “In 2023, the Cowboys were worth $9 billion and rising — the result of decades of exceptional athletic talent, coaching, and management that took shape during the ‘90s, when the once-struggling team transformed into three-time Super Bowl champions.” There are a lot of words doing a lot of heavy lifting in there.)

In what seems like a wholly appropriate pivot, the directors for the yet-to-be-titled series will be Chapman and Maclain Way, who previously oversaw Wild Wild Country, a documentary about a cult leader who built what he considered a utopian society in Oregon only to find himself crossways with the locals. (Any parallels between Jerry Jones, his billion-dollar sports palace in Arlington and the city it calls home are strictly coincidental.)

The series will stretch over 10 episodes, each around 45 minutes in length and, according to the NFL statement, will offer “never-before-seen footage and interviews with longtime Cowboys owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones, as well as some of the all-time great players of the 1990s such as Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders, and head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer.”

You’ll notice a complete absence, thus far anyway, of anyone associated with the current iteration of the team (Jerry excluded, of course). So, if the line in Netflix’s announcement — “The upcoming documentary series ... will tell the story of how ‘America’s Team’ established a legacy” — is to be believed, this project might be more in the vein of ESPN’s acclaimed The Last Dance, which chronicled a specific window in time, not necessarily the present day.

The halcyon days of the Dallas Cowboys aren’t the only Cowboys-related content coming to a Netflix account near you. The streamer also announced on May 15 the coming of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, a documentary series directed by Emmy-winner Greg Whiteley (Cheer and Last Chance U). The series will focus on “the ambition and drive shared by the cheerleaders and their coaches through the 2023–24 season,” according to Netflix press materials.

So, once fall rolls around and you can’t possibly sit through another agonizing Dallas Cowboys defeat, at least you’ll have team-adjacent viewing options to stream. Think of it as dulling present pain with past glories.