'Rematch' Miniseries Set For U.S. Premiere On Disney+ This May

Disney+ is set to debut the new miniseries Rematch in the United States on May 21. The English-language production dramatizes the historic "man vs. machine" battle from 1997 between GM Garry Kasparov and IBM's supercomputer Deep Blue, and was fairly positively received.

Rematch is a French-Hungarian co-production in English directed by Canadian director Yan England. It had its premiere in Europe in September/October 2024, first on Arte's website (France/Germany), then later on Max in most of Europe. 

From May 21, viewers in the U.S. will also get their chance to watch the English-language series that revisits Kasparov vs. Deep Blue, the historic battle that was won 3.5-2.5 by the supercomputer. It marked the first time a reigning world champion lost a match to a computer in a classical time control, forever changing the chess world.

The dramatized series touches upon the psychological aspect of the match and the subtle controversies surrounding it. Christian Cooke stars as Kasparov, while Sarah Bolger is Helen Brock, the determined IBM VP who plays a crucial role in orchestrating the rematch, and Trine Dyrholm portrays Garry's mother, Klara Kasparova, a key figure in his life. 

The reception in Europe was fairly positive, notably winning the 2024 Series Mania Grand Prize in Lille, France, in March. Reviews were also fairly positive, such as in the French film magazine Premiere, which commended Cooke's performance as Kasparov. 

Chess.com's senior reporter Peter Doggers also praised the series for its "damn good acting," describing it as well produced and captivating. He noted that the show is a dramatization and "loosely [follows] the facts," so viewers can enjoy the thrill of the story rather than nitpicking details. Doggers concluded:

Rematch captures the essence of what happened in 1997 (with episodes 2-6 focusing on that rematch): the psychological struggles Kasparov went through, which ultimately led to him losing a match for the first time in his life, and becoming the first world champion to lose to a machine.

The U.S. release of Rematch comes in a year with a number of major chess-related productions set to release, two of them centering around the scandal between GMs Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann. Netflix announced last year that their documentary series Untold will delve into the events that followed after their game in the 2022 Sinquefield Cup. Carlsen has confirmed his participation in this documentary, as did Chess.com CEO Erik Allebest. A release date is yet to be announced.

Adding to this wave of chess-centric content is Checkmate, the movie produced by A24, the studio behind numerous critically acclaimed films. This project also centers on the Carlsen-Niemann scandal and is likely to feature high-profile stars as it is being produced by Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone, alongside Nathan Fielder, who is reportedly set to make his debut as a director.