Former figure skating rivals Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding are getting still more airtime.
Just three days after ESPN announced it would be making a 30 for 30 documentary about the infamous incident in which Harding had Kerrigan clubbed in the knee ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, NBC revealed that it, too, would be doing a doc about the figure skating scandal. The most glaring difference between the two projects: NBC has snagged an exclusive interview with Kerrigan.
STORY: ESPN's '30 for 30' Series to Feature Jimmy Connors, Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, More
NBC’s doc, which was announced during the TV Critics Association’s press tour Saturday, will be narrated by former pro athlete-turned-veteran sportscaster Mary Carillo, and will look back at the infamous incident --dubbed "the whack heard 'round the world"-- that captured myriad headlines some 20 years earlier. It is scheduled to air in prime-time during the winter Olympics in Sochi, and will feature interviews with both Kerrigan and Harding. (It is highly unlikely that the duo will appear on camera together.)
Carillo, who has not yet sat down with Kerrigan for her interview, is said to have driven the booking process. The doc will focus on the scandal as well as the womens' lives today. As Olympics executive producer Jim Bell noted, Kerrigan has not spoken out about the devastating episode in the two decades since.
ESPN’s installment, which currently is set to in November, will include interviews with Harding as well as several people who are close to Kerrigan. ESPN Films’ Connor Schell acknowledged during his press tour appearance Wednesday that he was still hopeful Kerrigan and her husband would sit down with his crew. The ESPN doc, titled Tonya and Nancy, is expected to chronicle the six weeks of round-the-clock media coverage that followed as the competitors prepared for the winter games. (Kerrigan ultimately recovered, scoring a silver medal in Lillehammer; Harding finished eighth.)
