Kentucky basketball teams up with Facebook Watch for a 10-episode reality show

Kentucky coach John Calipari has always been a forward thinker when it comes to leveraging technology to pushing the brand of his program, and Wednesday's announcement that his program his teaming up with Facebook Watch is the latest example of that. 

The program led by the Hall of Fame coach announced an upcoming 10-episode docu-series premiering on Saturday, Feb. 17 which will air exclusively on Facebook Watch. The show -- Inside the Madness: University of Kentucky Basketball -- follows this year's team throughout the season exploring life on and off the court and everything that comes with playing at Kentucky under Calipari.

"This is the story of young men, led to be a team by their greatness and willingness to sacrifice, finding their way on the biggest stage in college basketball," says Tom Cappello, Executive Producer for Crazy Legs Productions. "It's an honor to be welcomed into the Big Blue Nation and we are excited to create a new experience for fans that will allow them to see a more personal side of the players and coaches that make up this team." 

The show is from the executive producers of the Showtime series, A Season With which has followed Notre Dame, Florida State, and Navy football for a season. It airs on the Facebook Watch platform -- the same platform that recently debuted the Tom vs. Time series focused around legendary New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

"We get approached all the time to do all-access shows," Calipari said in a statement. "The one question I always have is, what is our 'why'? Why are we doing this? As our fans know, we are transparent in everything we do so there is never a concern about the access we give. It's, what makes this different than any other show? What I liked about (executive producers) Jason (Sciavicco) and Tom's approach to this show is what they wanted to show. It wasn't about the games or showing how I coach or a lesson in Kentucky basketball; it was about showing the type of kids we have here and the family atmosphere we've created. They wanted to show that there's more than just wins and losses with these kids; it's about preparing them for the rest of their lives. The great thing is their crew can do that while being of no distraction to our team and our goals. They're around, but they're a fly on the wall. We get to open the doors to our team in a way we've never done before while I coach my team and these kids learn."

New episodes of Inside the Madness: Kentucky Basketball will air on Saturdays beginning Feb. 17. Once postseason play begins, episodes will begin dropping twice weekly. Below is the full schedule. 

Inside the Madness: University of Kentucky Basketball schedule

• Episode 1: Saturday, Feb. 17
• Episode 2: Saturday, Feb. 24
• Episode 3: Saturday, March 3 
• Episode 4: Saturday, March 10
• Episode 5: Wednesday, March 14
• Episode 6: Saturday, March 17  
• Episode 7: Wednesday, March 21
• Episode 8: Saturday, March 24
• Episodes 9 and 10: Saturday, March 31