The Inaugural Season of the PWHL Documentary to Debut February 16 on Peacock

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New York and Toronto (February 12, 2026) — The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) will be featured in a new documentary offering unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the league’s inaugural season in 2024. Produced by Hello Sunshine, alongside Ally Financial and the Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ IF/THEN® Initiative, The Inaugural Season of the PWHL will debut Feb. 16, 2026, exclusively on Peacock. The film marks the next chapter of The Rise, the landmark documentary series chronicling the seismic growth of women’s sports.

About Hello Sunshine’s The Inaugural Season of the PWHL:

A defiant group of elite women’s ice hockey players — Olympians and World Champions — spent years fighting for a league worthy of their talent. After years of rejection, these women caught the attention of Billie Jean King and Dodgers owner Mark Walter, and after years of struggle, a new professional women’s hockey league was born. This documentary follows the historic inaugural season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the relentless athletes who drove the league to the first championship.

The documentary features players Alex Carpenter, Aerin Frankel, Sophie Jaques, Brianne Jenner, Hilary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Natalie Spooner. It also includes PWHL Advisory Board members Billie Jean King, Stan Kasten, and Ilana Kloss, along with Executive Vice Presidents Jayna Hefford (Hockey Operations) and Amy Scheer (Business Operations).

Directed and executive produced by Patty Ivins Specht (Billie Jean King’s Groundbreakers (PBS), Wynonna Judd: Between Hell & Hallelujah (P+)). Additional executive producers include Gina Matthews, Grant Scharbo, Billie Jean King, Ilana Kloss, Jayna Hefford, Amy Scheer, Kasey Barrett, and Azon Juan.

Hello Sunshine’s Reese Witherspoon, Sara Rea, Zoe Fairbourn, Sue Kinkead, Lyda Hill, Ty O’Neil, and Nicole Small serve as executive producers across The Rise, with Ashlyn Harris acting as consulting producer.

“From the players who fought for a professional hockey league worthy of their talent to the young women reshaping the future of X Games, these documentaries capture women changing sports from the inside out,” said Sara Rea, Head of Unscripted at Hello Sunshine. “The Rise is about honoring that courage and showing what’s possible when women finally get the platform they deserve.”

“From the beginning, our goal was to build a league that treated women’s hockey with the seriousness, investment, and respect it has always deserved,” said Stan Kasten, PWHL Advisory Board member, and President & CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “This documentary provides an inside look at the relentless effort it took to make the PWHL a reality and the significance of the inaugural season that followed.”

Ally’s role in making The Rise a reality continues the brand’s longstanding commitment as a catalyst for change in the sports ecosystem, including its unprecedented public pledge to spend equally on men’s and women’s sports media, along with intentional sponsorship investments across the NWSL, WNBA, Unrivaled, PWHL, USGA, college athletics, and beyond. Under the leadership of Sara Rea, Hello Sunshine continues to build a robust slate of women’s sports storytelling, including Women’s Sports Now (Roku), F1: The Academy (Netflix), and Surf Girls (Amazon Prime).

The Inaugural Season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League and The Gold Medal Girls of X Games premiere February 16, 2026, exclusively on Peacock.