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AMC Networks today announced that it has given the green light to the sports docuseries Gold Rush (working title), an AMC Studios and Skydance Sports co-production with producing partners NFL Films, Religion of Sports (Ros), and Tom Brady (for both Ros and 199 Productions).

The four-episode series will explore the dramatic and iconic run of the San Francisco 49ers during the ’80s and early ’90s, when the club rose from an also-ran into pro football’s most glamorous franchise. The series is set to premiere exclusively on AMC and AMC+ in 2026.

Photo courtesy of AMC Networks

Utilizing rare and never-before-seen footage from NFL Films, including video of team speeches and behind-the-scenes photos of San Francisco’s legendary head coach Bill Walsh, the series will feature incisive interviews with club legends (and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees) such as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young, and Eddie DeBartolo Jr.

Paul Finebaum, an ESPN contributor for a decade, is weighing in on the layoffs that saw about 20 on-air personalities exit the sports network.

“It’s pretty tough, and I say that loving my job and loving the company,” Finebaum said during an appearance on The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast. “But it was the worst day in my 10 years at ESPN. I can’t explain Bob (Iger’s) thinking. I think you have to trust his track record, but it doesn’t really excuse the state of mind that a lot of us, if not all of us, were in.”

He continued, “And I say as an employee nobody knew Friday. Especially those of us who were on the air whether we would be around at the end of the day. I’ll spare you a lot of the things that have been said on Twitter and on social...

News Nation anchor Dan Abrams says conservative commentators’ theories that ESPN is “going down” because of its left-leaning politics ignore some “expensive facts,” suggesting that the network fired 20 high-profile hosts after it overspent on things like Big 12 football games and celebrity sports analyst Pat McAfee.

The “Dan Abrams Live” host said Wednesday highlighted the analysis of Charlie Kirk and other right-leaning commentators who repeated the theory that ESPN’s “woke” politics somehow led to the firing of longtime lead NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy, Jalen Rose, Steve Young, Suzy Kolber, Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson and others.

“So what is driving this at ESPN?,” Kirk said in a clip played by Abrams. “The answer is, ESPN has gone woke, and they’re not as boundary-pushing or as funny or as interesting … this is happening because ESPN has decided to go a political route.”

Abrams acknowledged that the network had, in fact,...

Sports analyst Stephen A. Smith has responded to the laying off of more than a dozen of ESPN’s on-air personalities, and fears that more layoffs could very well be in the works. The staffers were all dropped by the network at the end of June as part of an overall cost-cutting measure at the network.

“ESPN laid off about 20 members of its on-air talent… friends of mine, actually, definitely respected colleagues who’d done a phenomenal job and deserved better,” he said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “It’s not Disney or ESPN that they deserved better from,...

Stephen A. Smith is opening up about the ESPN layoffs that saw about 20 on-air personalities become redundant at the sports network.

“ESPN laid off about 20 members of its on-air talent … friends of mine, actually, definitely respected colleagues who’d done a phenomenal job and deserved better,” the sports analyst said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “It’s not Disney or ESPN that they deserved better from, they deserved better than the times we’re living in.”

Smith, who co-hosts First Take con ESPN, gave a shoutout to Jalen Rose saying that he had been doing an “outstanding job for us covering the NBA for years.”

Related: Pat McAfee Addresses Backlash Over ESPN “Mass Exits” & Says He’s “Pumped To Be Joining” Network

“Got a lot of love for that brother,” he added. “A lot of the great work he’s done over the years, what he’s represented for the company…...

ESPN has let go of about 20 on-air personalities who have now taken to social media to react to the news following the cuts.

David Pollack shared a message with his followers on Twitter after news broke that he was one of the talents who got laid off from the sports network.

“I won’t be brought back to College GameDay next year or to ESPN and just wanted to say thank you to so many people. I just appreciate everybody along the journey,” the former NFL player said in his video statement. “You know, 12-13 years ago, ESPN taking a chance on me and all the people that I got to work with.”

He continued, “I got to work with so many great people and do so many things, that was so awesome for so many years and I’m just very, very thankful for it. And I don’t know what’s next,...