Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that famed trainer Freddie Roach is set to be the focus of a reality show scheduled to debut in early 2012 on HBO.
The show will follow Roach and his training of many of the biggest fighters out of his Wildcard Gym and will be called “On Freddie”.
“I am used to it,” Roach told ESPN.com about having the cameras around him constantly. “Pretty much the same deal as ’24/7′ and ‘Fight Camp’ with cameras there at 5 a.m. and waking me up. They have the keys to my house to get in.
“It’s going to be my life at home and mostly everything in the gym leading up to fights. It doesn’t bother me having the cameras around. Sometimes it gets overwhelming and if it does, I tell them to go home.”
“They put together a really good idea of people looking into my life from the outside,” Roach said. “The thing is it will give people a look at what my life is like. I have a great life and with the Olympic team thing coming up and Manny and Amir having fights, I hope people will find it interesting.”
“We are truly excited about this innovative new reality series that will allow HBO to partner with Peter Berg,” Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, said. “Freddie Roach is an extraordinary person and many of our subscribers are familiar with his superior work in training some of the world’s premier fighters. This will be a fascinating and unique series.”
“We start filming more of the show this week. They stopped in (Tuesday) to get a look at the gym and see the atmosphere and see who the characters are at my gym. I have some interesting friends,” Roach said with a laugh. “This show will give a broader picture of my life and the people I take care of and the people that take care of me. It will be much broader than just getting one fighter ready for a fight. You’re not going to catch me at home too often though. The gym will be the focal point of the show.”
“HBO’s enthusiasm in supporting a less-conventional, vérité style of storytelling is why they continue to create original and truly innovative programming,” Berg said. “It’s why they are the best and we are very excited to be working with them.”
