VICE SPORTS ADDS SEVENTH EPISODE TO CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED "PITINO: RED STORM RISING" DOCUSERIES
Bonus Episode Airs Thursday, April 3 at 10:00 PM
Pitino to Appear on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Tonight
NEW YORK (March 6, 2025) - VICE Sports today announced that it will add a bonus seventh episode to the critically acclaimed docuseries Pitino: Red Storm Rising, currently airing Tuesdays in primetime on VICE TV. Initially slated for a six-episode run, Pitino: Red Storm Rising follows Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino in his second season leading the NCAA Tournament-bound St. John's University men's basketball team (26-4 overall, 17-2 BIG EAST), now ranked sixth in the nation. A team that on Saturday captured its first BIG EAST Conference regular-season championship in 40 years. Episodes five and six air on Tuesday, March 11 and March 18 (10:00 PM ET/PT), respectively, with the bonus seventh episode slated to run on Thursday, April 3 (10:00 PM ET/PT). The extra show will offer viewers a review of the Red Storm's performance in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament leading up to the Final Four.
Filming for Pitino: Red Storm Rising began in the fall, as Pitino, who will be a guest on tonight's edition of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (11:34 PM - 12:37 AM ET/PT, NBC), and his Red Storm set out to build off the progress they made last season, but left them just short of an NCAA Tournament bid. In addition to capturing the team's inner workings and his old-school coaching style, the series takes a candid look at the highs and lows that mark Pitino's storied career as he returns St. John's to prominence in his New York City hometown. Cameras follow Pitino and the Red Storm on campus, to alumni/booster events; press conferences; private settings; in-game huddles; pregame, halftime, and postgame locker rooms; restaurants; on road trips; coaches meetings; film sessions; and NIL discussions, to name a few.
The first four episodes are titled (highlights here): The Rebuild; Family, which includes the viral, fiery speech Pitino delivered to his team down 13 at halftime to unranked Providence; The Grind; and The New Era. Each episode consists of some combination of interviews with Pitino, current and former assistant coaches, current and former players, St. John's administrators, and a host of college basketball media and observers including Zach Braziller; Seth Davis; Mike Francesa; Gus Johnson; Dana O'Neil; Pitino's son, Richard Pitino; Drew Rosenhaus; Jon Rothstein; Dick Weiss; and sports economist, author and professor, Andrew Zimbalist.
Pitino is the winningest active NCAA Division 1 men's head basketball coach. During his 36 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has made 23 NCAA Tournament appearances with five different schools, advancing to the Final Four seven times, a total achieved by only six coaches all-time. Pitino became the first coach to take three different schools to the Final Four and is the
only coach to win an NCAA Championship at two different schools (Kentucky, 1995-96; Louisville, 2012-13). With a 54-21 record in the NCAA Tournament, he holds the third-highest winning percentage among active coaches (.720).
Pitino: Red Storm Rising is produced for VICE Sports by The WorkShop Content Studios. Tom Farrell and Matt Howley are executive producers, and Hawley also directs. Daniel Amigone serves as Consulting Executive Producer.
VICE Sports is also currently airing Calipari: Razor's Edge on Mondays at 10:00-11:00 PM ET/PT through March 17, an original docuseries chronicling the career of Hall of Fame coach John Calipari and his first season leading the University of Arkansas men's basketball team.
As global demand for sports programming continues to grow, VICE Media recently launched the VICE Sports brand, coupled with a significantly expanded original sports programming strategy. VICE TV, the company's 40M plus subscriber cable television network in partnership with A+E, has shifted its programming to a sports-first model (find VICE TV viewing and streaming options here). In addition to Pitino: Red Storm Rising and Calipari: Razor's Edge, VICE Sports' recent and upcoming primetime additions include Brady vs Belichick: The Verdict, with host Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo; Dark Side of the Cage (season 1); THE GRUDGE; and Dark Side of the Ring (season 6). VICE Sports also just introduced its first-ever live event, BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, and unveils live Arena Football One on March 16. Overall, the company will televise over 150 hours of sports-themed docu-series, programs, events, and podcasts for global distributors across television and digital.
-- VICE SPORTS --
About VICE Media
VICE Media is a global media and entertainment company that produces authentic, high-quality content across television, digital, film, news, and branded advertising. The company has four main businesses in its portfolio: VICE Studios (award-winning television, documentary, film, and digital production company); Virtue (full-service advertising agency), VICE TV (40M plus subscriber sports and entertainment cable network in partnership with A+E); and Pulse (leading commercials and music video production company). Recent VICE Studios' content includes the hit UK series Gangs of London, MAX documentary Bama Rush and the newly launched VICE News podcast Shane Smith Has Questions (in partnership with Bill Maher's Club Random Studios). The company also has a joint venture with Savage Ventures to operate its VICE brand digital channels.
St. John's Men's Basketball
Boasting the ninth-most victories all-time in NCAA Division I, St. John's has recorded 91 winning seasons in its storied 118-year history. With 29 NCAA Tournament appearances in program history, the Red Storm has made nine runs to the Sweet 16, advanced to the Elite Eight six times, and made a pair of trips to the Final Four in 1952 and 1985. St. John's postseason success also includes an unprecedented five National Invitation Tournament titles and 29 appearances in the NIT.
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