Toronto Tempo documentary series to give behind-the-scenes look at team’s beginnings

A Toronto Tempo logo on a basketball is shown as members of the media watch a broadcast of the WNBA Expansion Draft in Toronto, on Friday, April 3, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

A new documentary series will provide an inside look at how Toronto’s first WNBA team was built.

On Monday, ESPN announced that it has greenlit “Setting The Tempo,” a four-episode series about the Toronto Tempo and “the relentless race against the clock as they evaluate talent, establish a culture, and lay the foundation for sustained success.”

“As Canada’s first-ever WNBA team prepares for its inaugural season, the Tempo are not simply assembling a roster — they are shaping a legacy in real time. From front office strategy sessions to defining personnel decisions, every move carries historic weight,” the release read, noting that the team has an all-women leadership group from President Teresa Resch, General Manager Monica Wright Rogers to head coach Sandy Brondello.

“With expectations soaring, national pride on the line, and the countdown to tip-off accelerating, ‘Setting the Tempo’ chronicles the ambition, pressure, and purpose behind launching a franchise determined to make an immediate impact.”

It is produced by tennis superstar Serena Williams, former Raptors president Masai Ujiri, Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, American newscaster Robin Roberts and Canadian comedian Lilly Singh.

Williams, Ujiri and Singh are members of the ownership group.

In 2024, Toronto was selected as one of the expansion cities of the WNBA, the first outside of the United States.

Two years later, on May 8, in front of a sold-out crowd at Coca-Cola Coliseum, the Toronto Tempo tipped off their historic inaugural season.

The team is currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with seven wins and seven losses.