Overview
- The five-episode docuseries U. S. Against the World is airing on HBO with the first three episodes available in early June and new installments released weekly on Tuesdays.
- Director Rand Getlin has publicly defended the choice to only briefly acknowledge the Gio Reyna–Gregg Berhalter controversy, saying the team could not "half-litigate" a matter that needed hours of reporting to be fair.
- The Reyna–Berhalter episode refers to an episode in Qatar when Berhalter nearly sent Gio Reyna home, a later report by Reyna’s mother to U.S. Soccer about an alleged early-1990s incident, an investigation that reinstated Berhalter, and his eventual firing after the 2024 Copa América.
- Park Stories began talks with U.S. Soccer in early 2020 and started continuous filming in May 2022 after a last-minute call to be in Cincinnati, giving the filmmakers four years of access to the young, diverse U.S. squad.
- By centering intimate player profiles rather than the controversy the series aims to build U.S. interest ahead of the 2026 World Cup and the debate over the omission may increase calls for deeper, stand-alone reporting or follow-up projects.