The 1972 Canada-USSR Summit Series of Hockey changed the game forever, playing out dramas of national identity, pride, politics, and ideology while the world watched, enraptured, during the Cold War.
Commissioned by CBC, SUMMIT 72 premieres on Wednesday September 14, 2022 on CBC and CBC Gem, with the remaining three episodes playing out the following consecutive Wednesdays, at 8:00 p.m. local time (8:30 NT).
SUMMIT 72 series tells the definitive story of the legendary 1972 eight-game ‘Super Series’ through a modern lens, and explores its legacy and lasting influence on Canadian national identity, framing it against the political and cultural climate of the times in both countries. In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the tournament and with exclusive rights granted from Team Canada ‘72, multiple award-winning filmmakers have collaborated to create this definitive 4 x 60-minute documentary series. Series producer, Nicholas de Pencier, shares writing and directing duties across all episodes with the A-list team of author, musician and director, Dave Bidini; multi-award-winning writer, producer and director, Robert MacAskill; and 9-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and news anchor for Chicago’s ABC News, Ravi Baichwal.
With never-before-seen 16mm archival footage restored in stunning 4K high resolution, SUMMIT 72 brings an unforgettable moment in Canadian history to life on screen. Audiences get to relive—or experience for the first time—the adrenaline-fueled, edge-of-your-seat drama of one of the most monumental cultural proxy battles of the Cold War and trace its many reverberations in the zeitgeist right up to the present day.
“The 72 Summit Series is in our DNA as a nation,” says de Pencier. “It was a life-altering experience for the players and their fans from both sides of the Iron Curtain, that changed the cultural, political, and sports landscapes in ways that no one could have foreseen at the time. It is a story that endures and needs to be told through the prism of the present day to understand what it meant, how it changed hockey, and how it changed Canada. I’m honoured to be working with some of the best creative minds in the country, and that the players have trusted us with their story.”
Team Canada players and hockey legends, including Phil Esposito, Ken Dryden, Serge Savard, and Paul Henderson participate with exclusive interviews, as have Vladislav Tretiak, Boris Mikhailov, and other key members of the Soviet team.
“History has decided that the Summit Series is the most important moment in hockey history,” says Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Dryden. “To tell the bigness of this story, the 1972 players wanted to work with our best documentary storytellers. Someone who understands it, and can express it, so that everyone can understand it and feel it too. That’s why we’re excited to work with Nick de Pencier and his team.”
A CBC original documentary, SUMMIT 72 is produced by Mercury Films in association with Impossible Objects. Nicholas de Pencier, Robert MacAskill and Naveen Prasad serve as producers, while Mercury Films’ Jennifer Baichwal, and Impossible Objects’ Prasad serve as Executive Producers. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual, & Sports; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; Sandra Kleinfeld is Senior Director, Documentary; and Mike Miner is Executive in Charge of Production, CBC Docs.
SUMMIT 72 is produced with the support of The Rogers Documentary Fund, The Rogers Cable Network Fund and The Canadian Media Fund.
A French-language version of the series is also being produced. Additionally, a limited-edition collector’s box set of the series will be released for the 2022 holiday season by Unobstructed View, who will also handle international sales.
