Spike Lee sounds pretty bummed about his shelved Colin Kaepernick series

The director wasn't contractually able to say how he felt about ESPN dropping the series, but he implied he wasn't thrilled.

Spike Lee sounds pretty bummed about his shelved Colin Kaepernick series

Spike Lee‘s Colin Kaepernick docuseries is “not coming out.” And if you didn’t understand, here’s some further clarification from the man himself: “Let me give you a Spanish word: Nada. N-A-D-A. Let me give you a Brooklyn word. N-U-T-T-I-N. Nuttin’.”

Lee shared all of this in a new interview with Vulture, in which he explained that while he can say the series isn’t coming out in whatever language or dialect he wants, that’s pretty much all he can comment on the matter. “Reach out to ESPN or Colin Kaepernick,” he added. “That’s all I can contractually say.” When Lee’s interviewer asked him how he felt about the shelving, he did come up with a rather creative workaround. “Look at my face,” he said, before making what the outlet described as “a very sad facial expression.” “We worked over a year on that,” he added.

Earlier this month, it was reported that ESPN had kicked the docuseries—tentatively titled Da Saga Of Colin Kaepernick—from its roster. ESPN said in a statement that it was the result of Lee, Kaepernick, and the network “collectively” deciding to “no longer proceed with the project as a result of creative differences,” though Lee’s more recent comments suggest that the decision may not have been quite as collective as ESPN implied. (The network declined to offer any additional statement when reached by The A.V. Club.) Puck News reported in 2024 that Lee and Kaepernick, who made headlines when he took a knee during the national anthem in 2016 in protest of police violence and racial inequity, disagreed on the direction of the proposed eight-episode series. Kaepernick reportedly wanted the project to focus on his own experience in the NFL while Lee wanted to tell a broader story of injustice to Black athletes in professional sports. At the time, the outlet also reported that ESPN would allow Lee and Kaepernick to shop the project elsewhere, but it doesn’t sound like that will be happening anytime soon.

Still, despite any disappointment he can’t contractually talk about related to the shelved project, Lee is doing just fine. His latest collaboration with Denzel Washington, Highest 2 Lowest, is out in theaters now. “Shoot, when I’m working, I don’t need an alarm clock to get me up,” Lee said. “I’m ready. Because I’m doing what I love.”

 
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