Monday Night Mayhem is a 2002 television film about the origin of ABC's television series Monday Night Football. It debuted on the U.S. cable TV network TNT on January 14, 2002. It was based on the 1988 nonfiction book of the same title by Marc Gunther and Bill Carter. Cast John Turturro as Howard Cosell John Heard as Roone Arledge Kevin Anderson as Frank Gifford Nicholas Turturro as Chet Forte Brad Beyer as Don Meredith Patti LuPone as Emmy Cosell Eli Wallach as Leonard Goldenson Shuler Hensley as Keith Jackson Jay Thomas as Pete Rozelle Brennan Brown as Bob Goodrich Chad L. Coleman as O. J. Simpson Production Filming took place in New York, New Jersey, and other locations by Turner Network Television. Reception Phil Gallo of Variety complained that "nobody looks quite right" and "there is invariably a thin line between caricature and character." Larry Stewart of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a negative review, writing, "The book was good, the movie isn’t. It appears to be cheaply made and the characters, particularly Frank Gifford and Don Meredith, are not believable. John Turturro does a decent job portraying Cosell, but his performance isn’t enough to save the movie." Stewart concludes, "It doesn’t come close to matching a documentary HBO did a couple of years ago titled “Cosell.”" Allen Barra of The New York Times gave the film a more positive review, writing that the film "works because of Mr. Turturro's unabashed joy in playing a part as juicy as Howard Cosell." Related films In the same year, Jon Voight portrayed Howard Cosell in the Michael Mann biopic Ali (2001). Voight's performance earned him an Academy Award nomination. Home media The movie was released on VHS on September 10, 2002. References External links American football films Films about television Films based on non-fiction books TNT Network original films 2002 television films 2002 films Monday Night Football ABC Sports Films set in the 1970s Films set in the 1980s Films directed by Ernest Dickerson Films scored by Van Dyke Parks Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in New Jersey 2000s American films