Photo Credit: Teddy Sheringham by Sampson Collins

16 April 2024 – 99, a new three-part documentary series that celebrates the year Manchester United won the treble, is set to premiere next month on Prime Video globally. An official trailer released today offers a first look at the series, which tells the remarkable story of how, in 1999, Manchester United made football history by winning the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League.

The documentary follows the astonishing road to greatness with untold stories from inside the team, revealing the dressing room conflicts, personal struggles and miraculous moments behind the legendary season, which culminated in the most unbelievable comeback victory in football.

Despite dominating domestic football during the 90s, manager Alex Ferguson was yet to restore Manchester United’s European glory when in 1999, it arrived in an unprecedented fashion. In just ten days, Ferguson’s team of home-grown talent and international stars won three trophies, the Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League; achieving the first ‘treble’ in English football history. This destiny hung in the balance until the final moments of the 1999 UEFA Champions League final, when Manchester United capped off their incredible season, scoring two goals in stoppage time. 25 years later, filmmaker Sampson Collins, with access to the team and new revelations and footage from inside the dressing room, explores the excitement, unparalleled determination, and miraculous twists of fate leading up to the remarkable achievement.

99 is produced by John Battsek’s Ventureland, in association with Studio 99 and Buzz16. Director Sampson Collins’ three-part documentary series with contributions from Sir Alex Ferguson and the 1998/99 Manchester United players and coaches, will leave viewers in awe of a legendary season of football.

The series joins Prime Video’s collection of exclusive sports documentaries and docuseries including: Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything, All or Nothing: Arsenal, We Are Newcastle United, That Peter Crouch Film, Rooney, Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes, Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In, and more. This is alongside a wide selection of live sport on Prime Video globally, including Premier League football in the UK, UEFA Champions League football in Germany and Italy, as well as the UK from August 2024, Wimbledon in Germany and Austria, Ligue 1 football and Roland-Garros tennis in France, New Zealand Cricket in India, NFL Thursday Night Football in the United States and more.

Prime members will be able to watch 99 anywhere and anytime on the Prime Video app for smart TVs, mobile devices, Fire TV, Fire TV stick, Fire tablets, games consoles, on Virgin’s V6 TV Box, the TalkTalk TV set top box, Sky Q, Apple TV, Chromecast, BT TV, or online at www.amazon.co.uk/primevideo. In the Prime Video app, Prime members can download the film on their mobile devices and tablets and watch anywhere offline at no additional cost. Prime Video is available in the UK and Ireland at no extra cost to a Prime membership for just £8.99 a month or £95 per year. New customers can find out more at amazon.co.uk/prime and subscribe to a free 30-day trial.

Credit

99 is available exclusively on Prime Video on 17th May when all three parts will drop globally.

99 – Full Synopsis

1999 was a year of ground-breaking success for England’s biggest and most powerful football club, Manchester United. Despite dominating domestic football during the 90s, manager Alex Ferguson was yet to restore Manchester United’s European glory when in 1999, glory arrived in an unprecedented fashion. In just ten days, Ferguson’s team of home-grown talent and international stars won three trophies, the Premiership, the FA Cup and the European Champions League; achieving the first ‘treble’ in English football history. This destiny hung in the balance until the final moments of the 1999 Champions League final, when Manchester United capped off their incredible season with the most unbelievable comeback in football history, scoring two goals in stoppage time. 25 years later, filmmaker Sampson Collins, with access to the team and new revelations and footage from inside the dressing room explores the excitement, unparalleled determination, and miraculous twists of fate leading up to the remarkable achievement.

Following the treble in ‘99, Manchester United was elevated to new heights. The club became a global brand with one of the largest fan bases worldwide; Alex Ferguson became ‘Sir’ Alex Ferguson and cemented his place as one of the greatest managers of all time; David Beckham’s superstar football and celebrity status soared. Approaching the 1998/99 season however, such scenes were a pipe dream. United had been stunned by a new force in the Premiership, Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal, who as reigning champions were looking to create a new era in English football. At the start of the season, summer scandal surrounded young Beckham, whose World Cup red card brought only more unwanted media attention to Ferguson’s team. At the same time, United appeared to lack the quality required to win in Europe following the departure of French superstar, Eric Cantona. 1999 therefore presented a fascinating story for Collins, who interviewed the team in search of the answer to how it all happened.

The three episodes of the series are divided by the three trophies but they shift back in time to deliver the powerful character arcs of players like Andy Cole and to exhibit the characteristic United spirit which goes back to the era of iconic manager, Sir Matt Busby, and was in the late 90s epitomised by Ferguson’s home-grown talent known as the Class of ‘92. Director Sampson Collins’ access to the team allowed him to discover the players’ psychological intensity, their commitment to never giving in no matter what, and their willingness to risk everything to make history. It is the stories the players share with Collins which gives the series more depth than just a retrospective documentary about a good football team. Weaving their personal stories into the journey of the season, Collins shows how their mentality pushed them through dire situations to achieve the miraculous comeback victories witnessed throughout the series and which makes 99 so dramatic.

About Studio 99

Studio 99 is a full-service content studio with the mission of producing content for a global audience. The studio operates both Editorial and Commercial Production alongside a full suite of brand and communications campaign planning and execution.

The Editorial production company specialises in developing premium, bluechip documentary features, series and formats for global platforms and networks. Completed projects include Fever Pitch: Rise of the Premier League for the BBC that premiered in August 2021, Fever Pitch: The Battle for the Premier League for Paramount+ that premiered in May 2023 and Save Our Squad with David Beckham for Disney+ that premiered in November 2022. Recently launched on Netflix is Beckham – charting the life and career of David Beckham, directed and produced by two Oscar-winners: Fisher Stevens and John Battsek. The series became the most watched Netflix show in the UK, USA and Australia within 24 hours of launch and has received a BAFTA nomination for the “Memorable Moment Award.”

Currently in production are an ESPN 30 for 30 series as well as World War Shoe: Adidas vs Puma (Working Title) for Disney+ that explores the historic sporting rivalry between the two brands.

Studio 99’s creative agency delivers a full service offer to clients from creative and brand strategy through to campaign execution. Partnered with DBVL’s communication and digital teams it creates content for David Beckham’s 150m global social media followers and generates full scale media coverage with campaigns, marketing and digital management. Studio 99 is part of the Authentic Studios Group.