With the news that Sunderland 'Til I Die is officially returning for a third season, it's worth a timely look back to the sensational second season of the show.
It followed the English club's attempt to gain promotion back to the Championship a year after suffering a second successive relegation. While they would fall short against Charlton Athletic back in 2019, at least the Netflix cameras were there to capture all the highs and lows of a tumultuous season.
The season begins with new owner Stewart Donald and executive director Charlie Methven making a good impression - at least with the fans, though perhaps not with some of the staff.
Much has changed since the conclusion of the 2018/19 season, although the club now find themselves at that final hurdle once again.
As for the stars of that season, where have they ended up? We've taken a look at where some of the players and staff are in their careers right now.
Sunderland 'Til I Die Season 2: Where are they now?
The players
Josh Maja
The striker departing the club during the January 2019 transfer window is one of the major events of season two. Maja, who came through the Sunderland academy, joined French side Bordeaux.
He made a big impact in Ligue 1 in the 2019/20 campaign , scoring eight goals in 24 appearances. However, he struggled for form in the following season and joined Fulham on loan in January of 2021. He went on to score three goals in 15 appearances as the club were relegated.
Last season he shipped out on loan to Stoke in January, scoring just twice in 17 appearance. It's fair to say Maja has yet to live up to the potential he showed at the Stadium of Light.
Luke O'Nien
In contrast to the first season, Sunderland players do not spend much time in front of the camera. One of the few exceptions is new signing Luke O'Nien who comes across as ambitious and enthusiastic but also likeable.
The defender/midfielder is still with the club. He was named in the 2020-21 League One Team of the Season, and started last season's play-off final win over Wycombe Wanderers.
Jack Baldwin
The 26-year-old centre-back, who transferred to Sunderland from Peterborough ahead of the 2018/19 season on a two-year deal, joined League Two side Salford City in a deadline day loan move in September of 2019, before joining Bristol Rovers on a permanent deal the following summer.
Baldwin left Bristol Rovers soon after their relegation to League Two, spending the past two seasons with Ross County in the Scottish Premiership.
Lee Cattermole
After a decade at the Stadium of Light, Cattermole left in the summer of 2019, joining Dutch side VVV-Venlo on a free transfer after his contract with Sunderland expired. He has played 11 times for the club in the Eredivisie.
However, he would leave the club at the end of the season and soon retired from playing.
Cattermole is now coaching, recently taking over as manager of the Middlesbrough U18 side, before stepping up to the role of U23 coach.
Tom Flanagan
The centre-back, who joined Sunderland in the summer of 2018 from Burton Albion, would stay with the club up until very recently. He eventually left to join Shrewsbury Town in January of this year.
London-born Flanagan has also featured regularly for Northern Ireland, including in their recent Nations League games against Kosovo and Greece.
Aiden McGeady
The Ireland international spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Charlton, the team which defeated Sunderland in the 2018/19 League One play-off final.
However, he quickly found himself back at Sunderland. The 2020-21 was somewhat of a renaissance for him at the club, scoring six goals and registering 17 assists in all competitions, and being named in the League One team of the season.
He has since left Sunderland for Hibernian - but his skills remain as silky as ever.
Will Grigg
The Northern Ireland international striker scored just five goals for Sunderland in their push for promotion after arriving for a League One record £3 million in the January 2019 transfer window.
He would go on to score one goal in the entirety of the 2020-21 season, before leaving the club on loan for MK Dons in January of 2021 having drawn another blank this season. He would score eight goals before the end of the campaign.
This season saw him shipped out to Rotherham United, where he scored two goals in the entire campaign despite their promotion.
He has since returned to MK Dons on a permanent basis, making a strong start to the season with three goals in seven games.
Sunderland Til I Die: Where are the non-playing staff now?
Jack Ross
The Scot was sacked as Sunderland manager in October of 2019 with the club sixth in League One after 11 games.
"This is a decision that has been made with a heavy heart," club owner Stewart Donald said at the time.
"When we arrived at the club 18 months ago, we appointed Jack because we felt that he was the right man to take Sunderland forward over a number of years.
"Jack has worked extremely hard, and has helped us achieve stability at the club."
7 - Of current teams within the top four tiers of English league football, only Liverpool (1) and Manchester City (6) have lost fewer league games (excl. playoffs) than Sunderland (7) since Jack Ross was appointed ahead of 2018-19. Dismissed. pic.twitter.com/essh757OwV
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 8, 2019
Just three weeks later, the 43-year-old was named manager of Scottish Premiership side Hibs on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
He was sacked by the club in December of last year after a run of seven defeats in nine league games, and took over as head coach at Dundee United over the summer.
Stewart Donald
Soon after buying the club, Donald was trying to sell it.
At the start of 2020 (less than two years after purchasing Sunderland), with promotion looking increasingly unlikely, several Sunderland supporters group banded together, demanding that Donald pack his bags. The club swiftly confirmed that is his intention.
In an interview with Talksport in March of 2020, Donald said that he didn't regret buying the club but added, "but if I was presented with the same deal again that we got to buy it, I probably wouldn’t take it".
He also said that being so open with supporters may have been a mistake.
"I think when we walked in I don’t think me or Charlie [Methven] realised just how big Sunderland Football Club is. When you walk in and see the enormity of it, you suddenly realise that every little thing that you say is dissected 20 different ways, and people position those comments sometimes, they don’t show half the interview, or whatever.
"I think at the start we were extremely open, but naive to that. We were like rabbits in the headlights. It took a little while to get used to the size of the club."
He would eventually find a buyer in the form of 23-year old French businessman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, who purchased a majority stake in February of 2021.
Donald remains a minority stakeholder but has nothing to do with the running of the club. He recently said that he would like to take up a role with former club Eastleigh, although would have to sell his rumoured 34% stake in Sunderland before he did so.
Charlie Methven
After 18 months at the club as executive director, Methven - the star of the second season of Sunderland Til I Die - departed Sunderland in December of 2019. Though, he still retains his six per cent share in the club.
In an interview with the Daily Mail in April of 2020, Methven said neither he nor Donald anticipated the attention they would receive due to the show.
"It’s very strange when you’ve reached your middle age, in more or less anonymity, that suddenly people will be seeing your face and making a judgement on you,’ he said.
"Nothing can really prepare you for that.
"We agreed to the second series because we felt it would be good for the club. We probably didn’t think too much about the implications for ourselves.
"They take thousands of hours of footage and then condense it into a melodramatic version of an entire year. Having said that, I think it’s a fair depiction of that mad and crazy period."
Like Donald, he retained a minority share after last year's sale.
Sophie Ashcroft
Following a squabble with Charlie Methven in episode three of Sunderland Til I Die, one in which the club garners the largest ever attendance for a League One game, head of corporate communications Sophie Ashcroft is pictured leaving the Sunderland offices with her belongings in a box.
She did depart that particular role with the club but did remain connected to Sunderland. In March of 2019, she became the head of marketing and communications with the Foundation of Light, Sunderland's official charity.
Been asked this a lot over last few days. I left the club in March 19 to start a new job at @SAFCFoL - the club’s official charity. I love #SAFC ...passion from fans & staff to make it a success is second to none. Glad to still be involved, as there’s nothing quite like it 🔴⚪️ https://t.co/fyNkPVsFaD
— Sophie Ashcroft (@SophieAshcroft) April 6, 2020
She has since moved on to take up a role as Head of Media for the Scottish Commonwealth Games team.
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