Showtime to produce documentary series on Stanley Cup pursuit

Showtime Sports announced Friday that it will produce a real-time, behind-the-scenes documentary series on the pursuit of this season’s Stanley Cup with what the premium cable network bills as “unprecedented access” to the NHL in its “All Access: Quest for the Stanley Cup.”

The series will premiere May 20 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, with a maximum of five weekly episodes chronicling the Eastern and Western Conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final.

The Pacific Division-champion Ducks and 2014 NHL-champion Kings are currently participating in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The series will be produced by Ross Greenburg, the 53-time Emmy Award-winner who oversaw a similar regular-season NHL series on HBO previously, and also developed that network’s highly praised “24/7” boxing series that highlighted Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s personality.

Stephen Espinoza, the executive vice president of Showtime, told The Times this week he’s extremely excited about the project, and said in a statement, “Showtime has set a new standard for the sports docu-series genre with unprecedented access to teams and players at the pinnacle of their sport,” noting his network’s “A Season With Notre Dame Football” project this past season.

“We’ll take viewers inside, to places they’ve never seen before, on the quest for the championship of a major professional sport.”

Ahead of time, he thanked NHL leadership, coaches and players “for granting us the … access we need to make this a timely and compelling program.”