1985 Chicago Bears book Monsters to become TV limited series
The 1985 Chicago Bears are headed for scripted television.
Sunset Lane Media has optioned Rich Cohen's non-fiction book Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football and plans to adapt it as an event limited series, meaning a single season that tells one complete story, according to The Hollywood Reporter. An option, in industry terms, means the company has secured the rights to develop the book for the screen. The news was reported on 15 October 2026.
Writer Daniel Kunka will write the adaptation. Steve Pink is attached to direct, meaning he is lined up for the job if the project moves forward. The company behind the deal, Sunset Lane Media, is run by executive-turned-producer David Beaubaire, the trade publication reported.
No network or streamer is attached yet. That detail matters. Without a buyer, there is no channel or platform, no transmission date and no confirmed episode count. The project must first find a home before cameras and full hiring can follow.
At this stage, the team is deliberately small. There is a writer, a director and a producer, not the larger writers' room and crew of up to hundreds who join once a series is approved for production. That later step is when most jobs are created and when the story either gets finished or does not.
The football history at the centre is straightforward. Chicago finished the 1985 season with a 15-1 record. The team then defeated the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX, which was watched live by more than 92 million people, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
For anyone new to the names, the roles break down simply. The writer shapes the book into scripts. The director leads the creative work on set. The producer oversees the project from rights to delivery and leads the search for a broadcaster or streamer.
Limited series of this kind are built to be picked up without prior knowledge. Viewers do not need to follow a current season or earlier episodes. Each story starts and ends in one run.
What happens next is a sale. Sunset Lane Media will take the package of book, writer and director to potential buyers. A buyer can then commission the show, either as a straight-to-series order, meaning no pilot is shot first, or by ordering a pilot before deciding on a full run. Casting and filming dates will follow only after that deal is done.
