REDEMPTION: Episode 1.1

Here's the decision. REDEMPTION is a sports documentary that isn't shy about what it believes. It follows the Ohio State Buckeyes through a historic losing streak — and follows their quarterbacks as they pray before and after games, wear their faith on their shirts, and baptize classmates on campus. It's uplifting, honest, and built around teamwork, perseverance, and open discussion of the Gospel.

It's also a real football show, which means real football roughness. Players push, smack, and chase each other; a couple come to blows after a loss; and a stadium-wide brawl breaks out between rival fans before police shut it down. Nobody is seriously hurt, and there's no foul language or sexual content — but the physical scuffles are why we'd steer the very young elsewhere.

So: if you enjoy a well-told, faith-forward story — and you don't need to love football to follow it — this premiere is worth your half hour. Watch it with your older teens; use judgment with the little ones.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been losing to their rivals since 2021, and something has to change. A fierce new head coach, Ryan Day, steps in to overhaul the roster.

Meanwhile, several of the team's quarterbacks — including Will Howard — do something you don't see in most locker rooms: they run a Christian concert and a live baptism ceremony on campus. That newfound faith is about to be tested against the Michigan Wolverines, "the team up north." Can the Buckeyes reclaim their glory?

Three stars, and here's what they mean. This is a well-made peek into the world of college football — well-shot, cleanly mixed, and told with enough skill that non-sports fans can follow every beat. Its greatest strength is how it weaves sit-down interviews into a single cohesive narrative, jumping between players and spectators without ever feeling disjointed or meandering.

The one weak spot is the handling of the "YouTube livestream" segments. They're dropped in without much audio or visual clean-up, and they distract from an otherwise polished presentation. It's a small blemish on a solid, compelling opener.

REDEMPTION wears its Christianity openly, and that's the whole point. The Buckeye quarterbacks admit to reading the Bible and praying to God in public. They wear shirts emblazoned with "Jesus" and "God." They hold an on-campus concert and baptize dozens of students into the faith. The players are non-denominational Christians who discuss the Gospel plainly in their interviews — no hedging, no embarrassment.

Alongside that faith, the series exalts the everyday virtues Scripture honors: teamwork, striving for excellence, and perseverance in the face of a discouraging record. As the dek puts it, when everything's about them, they're making it about Him — athletes pointing their platform away from themselves.

The one shadow is the bitter rivalry with Michigan, which spills into on-field frustration and a stadium brawl. Rivalry is part of sport, but the show doesn't pretend the anger is admirable. Taken together, this is a series that gets far more right than wrong.

The longing underneath a comeback story — the ache to be restored after failure — is exactly what the Gospel answers. These players know it, and they say so out loud. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This one's a pleasant surprise: a polished, genuinely uplifting sports series that isn't ashamed to name the God its players are praying to. There's some real football roughness and a fan brawl to keep in mind for the youngest viewers, but the heart of it is teamwork, perseverance, and open faith. Our answer stands: worth watching.