''Dark Side of the Ring'' is a Canadian documentary television series produced by Vice Studios. The series focuses on controversial subjects and events within the realm of

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

Series overview

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2020)

Season 3 (2021)

Release

The series premiered on

Viceland Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...

on April 10, 2019. On July 23, 2019, ''Dark Side of the Ring'' was renewed for a second season of 10 episodes, which premiered on March 24, 2020. For season 2, the series became a co-production with Canadian streaming service Crave (as part of owner

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

's distribution pact with Vice). An

aftershow An aftershow or after-show is a genre of television talk show whose topic is another television program. An aftershow is typically broadcast immediately after a new episode of its corresponding program to help retain the audience, and to provide ad ...

hosted by

Chris Gethard Christopher Paul Gethard (; born May 23, 1980) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He was the host of ''The Chris Gethard Show'', a talk show based in New York City, which aired from 2011 to 2018. He hosts the podcasts ''Beautiful Stories ...

, ''Dark Side of the Ring: After Dark'', was also added. On October 19, 2020, ''Dark Side of the Ring'' was renewed for a third season of 14 episodes, which premiered on May 6, 2021. All 3 seasons of ''Dark Side of the Ring'' were made available on the streaming service

Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...

in 2021.

Reception

''Dark Side of the Ring'' was Viceland's highest-rated series premiere among viewers in the

key demographic The key demographic or target demographic is a term in commercial broadcasting that refers to the most desirable demographic group to a given advertiser. Key demographics vary by outlet, time of day, and programming type, but they are generally co ...

. The first season won the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' Award for Best Pro Wrestling DVD/Streaming Documentary of 2019, and the second season episode "The Final Days of Owen Hart" won the same award for 2020. Season 2 brought larger viewership numbers, with the season finale profiling the

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Owen Hart Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wres ...

becoming the highest-rated program in Vice network history, at 626,000 viewers.

Spin-offs

In December 2020, Vice ordered two spin-off series: '' Dark Side of Football'' and ''

Dark Side of the 90's ''Dark Side of the 90s'' is a documentary television series created by Insight Productions and RailSplitter Pictures for Vice Studios that takes a look at popular culture of the 1990s. It is a spinoff of Vice's ''Dark Side of the Ring'' series. ...

'', which premiered on May 13 and July 15, 2021 respectively. In 2022, the network ordered an additional spin-off '' Dark Side of Comedy''. 'Dark Side of Comedy' Ordered at Vice - Variety
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References

External links

* * * {{VICE Media 2010s Canadian documentary television series 2019 Canadian television series debuts Professional wrestling controversies Professional wrestling documentaries True crime television series Viceland original programming