The Major League Soccer docuseries from Box to Box Films, the production company behind the very popular Formula 1: Drive to Survive series, arrives in February — and features New York City FC winger Malachi Jones.
The eight-part series, which was announced as in the works on January 11, 2024, is officially titled Onside: Major League Soccer and will debut on Apple TV+ on February 21. That's the eve of MLS kicking off their 30th year on February 22 when New York City FC opens the 2025 season at 2:30 pm ET in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida against Inter Miami CF.
Sure, the first Onside trailer highlights more global stars like Lionel Messi and David Beckham. But the presence of NYCFC's breakout 21-year-old attacker out of the MLS SuperDraft, and the promise of more behind-the-scenes time with Jones and his New York City teammates, is what has us most interested in the new doc.
Jones gets one line in the trailer, which you can watch in full below, saying "My journey is nothing short of incredible" while images of the NYCFC supporters' section, Jones driving with a miniature of the flag of Sierra Leon hanging from his rearview mirror, the exterior of Citi Field's Jackie Robinson Rotunda, and Jones jogging on the Citi Field pitch all flash by.
Jones and his family, including his MLS player brother Isaiah Jones of Nashville SC, have a great story that's likely to make for good retelling in Onside, and it will be interesting to see how much of his rookie season with NYCFC gets seen through the documentary lens.
Later in the trailer (at the 1 minute, 17 seconds mark, to be precise) there's also a clip of a celebration inside the NYCFC dressing room, hence the expectation that we'll get further looks behind the curtain of Nick Cushing's 2024 team. The club's radio announcer, Glenn Crooks, writes on Twitter that the Hudson River Derby will get special attention from the series – hopefully, they stopped filming before the third derby of the season held during the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The series promises "unprecedented access to players, coaches, and club," according to the official MLS release confirming the February 21 launch.
Beyond highlighting Inter Messi in Miami and our local NYCFC interests, the trailer hints at plenty of time spent with Columbus Crew SC and their coach, Wilfried Nancy, as well as Riqui Puig and the LA Galaxy. All logical points of focus given the Crew were holders of MLS Cup throughout 2024 and the ultimate winners of the year's made-for-AppleTV+ Leagues Cup, and Puig and the Galaxy went on to win MLS Cup.
Also compelling should be the story of veteran MLS defender Tim Parker, who appears with his family in the trailer. Parker is from Hicksville in Long Island's Nassau County and played his 10th MLS season in 2024, but also got traded from St. Louis City SC to New England Revolution in early August at midseason.
With this series premiering the day before the 2025 campaign begins, MLS diehards will get the unique chance to live concurrently in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons, as long as they're in good standing with their MLS Season Pass subscriptions.
Oliver Strand
