Conde Nast Entertainment to Debut Five New Episodes of GQ's "Casualties of the Gridiron" and Release Full Season of Docu-Series by Popular Demand

NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Conde Nast Entertainment (CNE) and GQ, in partnership with Endeavor Films and Bywater Films, have  today announced  that the final five episodes of Casualties of the Gridiron will premiere as part of a full-season release on December 16, 2013 on the GQ Digital Network. Casualties of the Gridiron chronicles the road to recovery for former NFL players left physically broken and cognitively impaired from injury-laden football careers. 

GQ's original documentary series will culminate with a focus on the science behind successful treatments for concussions and issues related to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE.) The Gridiron finale shares hope for players facing CTE as it follows former New York Giants defensive lineman Leonard Marshall, whose recent clinical brain scan showed markers for CTE, former Dallas Cowboys Running Back Lincoln Coleman, and others as they are introduced to an innovative Concussion Treatment Program with the P.A.S.T. Retired Athlete Medical Organization. Legendary coach Dick Vermeil will also appear in the series in support of his former player, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Terry Tautolo, who is in recovery from addiction that is thought to be related to his head trauma.

Following the success of the first three episodes, the full season of Casualties of the Gridiron – including the five all-new episodes – will be available for streaming across all platforms of the CNE digital network including the official GQ video site at video.gq.com/series/casualties-of-the-gridiron and YouTube.com/GQ as well as through syndicated partnerships on Monday, December 16, 2013.   

"By delivering five new episodes of Casualties of the Gridiron to viewers all at once, we're allowing our audience to engage with these gripping stories whenever and however they choose to watch," said Dawn Ostroff, President, Conde Nast Entertainment. "Conde Nast Entertainment's original series shares a new and hopeful side of the often controversial issue of concussions in the NFL through quality, compelling filmmaking." 

Casualties of the Gridiron follows a group of football players who once reached the pinnacle of athletic accomplishment, but paid a devastating price for their successes on the field.  The players are supported by the P.A.S.T. Retired Athlete Medical Group, which has been credited with improving – and in some cases saving – the lives of more than one hundred former NFL players.

"There are only two ways you go. Fight or die. You either die from fighting, or die from not fighting... I don't want to be that guy that CTE has taken over. I want to be the guy who has taken over it," said Leonard Marshall.  "And I want to take as many of us [former players] with me as I can and inform others like me how to deal with the issue."

To date, Casualties of the Gridiron has provided a personal look at the treatment of former New York Jets quarterback Ray Lucas, Minnesota Vikings guard Brent Boyd, Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Randy Grimes, and Washington Redskins wide receiver Charlie Brown. The five new episodes of the hard-hitting series will also follow San Francisco 49ers linebacker Terry Tautolo and Army fullback Gene Merlino as they reap the benefits of P.A.S.T.'s unique player to player peer group support systems, and eventually battle the addictions thought to be brought on by their head trauma through intense treatment in a rehab facility.  The series finale will introduce Leonard Marshall and Lincoln Coleman to the P.A.S.T. Concussion Treatment Program as they take the critical steps towards preventing or reducing symptoms that are likely related to CTE. Gridiron's conclusion will also feature Dick Vermeil's support of the recovery of his former 49ers player, Terry Tautolo. 

In 2009, GQ first shed light on the aftereffects of concussions and traumatic brain injuries in the feature "Game Brain" by Jeanne Marie Laskas. The eye-opening article chronicles a young pathologist's discovery of the link between concussion-related injuries and severe mental decline and the dramatic battle that would ensue between the National Football League and the scientific community. Five years, many high-profile professional players' deaths, and one controversial lawsuit later, Conde Nast Entertainment and the GQ digital channel are taking another look at the issue through their original documentary series, Casualties of the Gridiron.  

The full season of Casualties of the Gridiron will be available for streaming beginning December 16, 2013.  For the latest Gridiron updates, subscribe to the GQ YouTube channel, and follow Casualties of the Gridiron across social media with #GQGridiron.

Casualties of the Gridiron is directed by Endeavor Films' Isaac Solotaroff (WHAM! BAM! ISLAM!, Ballplayer: Pelotero) with co-director Jesse Handsher of Bywater Films.  Jennifer Smith and Solotaroff serve as both executive producers and producers for the series produced by Endeavor Films and Bywater Films for Conde Nast Entertainment and GQ.

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About Conde Nast Entertainment:
Conde Nast Entertainment (CNE) is a division of Conde Nast that focuses on the development, production, and distribution of original television, feature film, and digital video offerings based on the company's iconic media brands, which for more than one hundred years, have created the world's greatest content for the world's most influential audiences.  Follow us on Twitter @CNE.

Conde Nast is home to some of the world's most celebrated media brands. In the United States, Conde Nast publishes 18 consumer magazines, four business-to-business publications, 27 websites and more than 50 apps for mobile and tablet devices, all of which define excellence in their categories. The company also owns Fairchild Fashion Media (FFM), whose portfolio of brands serves as the leading source of news and analysis for the global fashion community. Conde Nast has won more National Magazine Awards over the past 10 years than all of its competitors combined. For more information, visit condenast.com or follow us on Twitter @CondeNastCorp. 

About GQ:
GQ is the leading men's general-interest magazine, with a monthly readership of 7 million readers. It is available in print, online at GQ.com, and as an app at iTunes.com. The magazine is published by Conde Nast, a division of Advance Publications. Conde Nast operates in twenty-five countries and is the world leader in exceptional content creation.

About Endeavor Films and Bywater Films:
Endeavor Films credits include Ballplayer: Pelotero (2012), which was released in theatrically and acquired by HBO Latino, WHAM! BAM! ISLAM! (2011) which opened the 2011–2012 season of PBS's documentary series "Independent Lens," and Visioning Tibet (2006) for American Public Television.

Bywater Films is a San Francisco–based company specializing in documentary and commercial production.

SOURCE Conde Nast Entertainment