What to expect from third season of Sunderland ‘Til I Die as Netflix hit returns

The tale behind Sunderland’s quest to end their four-year League One exile will be retold when the club returns to the small screen next week.

Netflix will screen the third season of its acclaimed ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’ documentary, which charts the Black Cats’ bid for promotion back to the Sky Bet Championship at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, from Wednesday, February 13.

The Fulwell 73 production picks up the story with 24-year-old chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus now at the Stadium of Light helm and manager Lee Johnson attempting to drag the club out of the third tier.

Johnson’s reign was brought to a premature halt after his side, second in the table at the time, lost 6-0 at Bolton at the end of January 2022 with Alex Neil taking his place 12 days later.

Neil would go on to lead the club to a fifth-placed finish and into a play-off semi-final showdown with Sheffield Wednesday.

Ross Stewart’s goal handed Sunderland a 1-0 first leg advantage which they defended at Hillsborough, where Patrick Roberts’ stoppage-time strike secured a 2-1 aggregate victory and a trip to Wembley.

Wycombe lay between the Black Cats and their promotion dream under the famous arch, but Elliot Embleton and Stewart ensured it was they who triumphed 2-0 to secure the final place in the following season’s Championship.

The fly-on-the-wall show documents the club’s trials and tribulations on and off the pitch, but also highlights their impact on non-football staff – some of whom have established themselves as TV personalities in their own right in the two previous series – fans and the whole community.

Season one covered Sunderland’s 2017-18 Championship campaign following their relegation from the Premier League, during which hopes of a swift return to the top flight ended in disaster when they dropped into League One.

The second instalment also ended in tears after the club made it to the 2018-19 play-off final, but lost 2-1 to Charlton.

::Sunderland ‘Til I Die series 3 will be available on Netflix as a box set from February 13 (series one and two also still available)