Charlie Methven among the original Sunderland ‘Til I Die stars and their current location.

Sunderland ‘Til I Die, which is back for a third and final series on Netflix, made celebrities out of previously little-known players and staff after gaining a huge following from football fans

Sunderland ‘Til I Die, the renowned Netflix series, is returning for a third and final season.

Because of their flaws and accurate depiction of a team that is constantly in turmoil both on and off the field, seasons one and two received praise. There were two heartbreaking Wembley losses, as well as a relegation. Oh, and the club itself was on the verge of closing.

For better or worse, the program elevated a number of players, employees, and executives to the status of celebrities as they battled to satisfy one of the nation’s most ardent fan bases. Some well-known characters from the first two series are currently located here.

Martin Bain

The Scot, who served as Sunderland’s first CEO, spoke a great game. But he wasn’t the Black Cats’ fan favorite, and when Sunderland was demoted to the third division at the end of the first season, his job was eliminated with little fanfare.

Then, in season two, it was revealed that he had paid six figures for a cryotherapy chamber intended for injured athletes. Bain was the only one to use the pricy equipment, though. Before resigning last year, Bain was named CEO of the Indian Super competition, the country’s top football competition, in 2019.

Simon Grayson

The gentle-mannered Yorkshireman, who took over as Sunderland’s first manager for four months, was fired from his position. The 54-year-old Grayson managed Fleetwood, Bradford, and Blackpool before “doing a Bain” and moving to India to manage Bengaluru. He had taken over for eighteen months, but left two months ago with mutual accord.

Chris Coleman

The Welshman’s stock was high after leading his country to the semi-finals of Euro 2016. But despite being hailed as a “milestone appointment” by Bain, Coleman couldn’t save the sinking ship and was sacked following the club’s relegation to League One.

Since then he has managed Hebei China Fortune in China and Atromitos in Greece. Now out of work again, the 53-year-old’s career hasn’t really recovered from that chastening spell in the north-east.

Jack Ross

An additional manager was anticipated to shoulder the weight of a failing team while constantly being filmed by Netflix. The Scottish manager enjoyed a respectable first year, leading his team to the play-off final, but Charlton gave them a heartbreaking loss at Wembley.

That came after another EFL Trophy loss at Wembley to Portsmouth. Despite the Black Cats being in the play-off zone, he was fired a few months into the next season.

Josh Maja

The emphasis of series two was the young striker’s future at Sunderland. At the beginning of the 2018–19 season, he was consistently finding the net in League One, and the team wanted to sign him to a new deal.

But Maja turned his back on the game and headed to Bordeaux in the January transfer window that season. Maja, who is still only 25 years old, moved permanently to West Brom last summer after experiencing a career stall in previous years due to loan stints at Fulham and Stoke. Since suffering a knee injury in December against—you guessed it—Sunderland, he hasn’t participated in any games.

Will Grigg

Gigg’s entrance at the Stadium of Light is worthy of a legend in Sunderland ‘Til I Die. The Black Cats were trying desperately to sign the Wigan striker on deadline day 2019, but negotiations were not going well.

Negotiations were headed by owner Stewart Donald, who even received advice from manager Jack Ross not to “go daft” and spend more than £2 million. But Donald did act “daft,” ultimately shelling out £3 million, maybe going up to £4 million with add-ons. Grigg was a complete failure. But at 32, Grigg is dominating the National League with Chesterfield, the incoming champions.

Stewart Donald

Donald initially came in as a saviour at the end of season one, but didn’t cover himself in glory with some erratic decision-making (see Grigg’s transfer above).

With unrest growing among fans, Donald sold up to Kyril Louis-Dreyfus in late-2020, although he remained a shareholder. He flogged his remaining shares last year and is now running National League Eastleigh.

Charlie Methven

Season two star Methven was the very public face of the club’s board as executive director. His words of wisdom included telling a staff meeting that Sunderland was a “failing, f***** up business”. He was praised for his marketing strategy, but dropped a few clangers, like calling fans who illegally stream matches “parasites”. Methven cut ties with the club along with Donald and is part of the consortium that owns Charlton.

Sophie Ashcroft

After an altercation with Methven, the head of corporate communications appeared to have cut off contact with the club. In the club parking lot, she was even caught on camera packing her stuff into her vehicle. Later on, she clarified that she had only accepted a new position with the Foundation of Light, the group’s charitable division.

It seems that she is no longer in that capacity. Ashcroft is head of media for Scotland’s Commonwealth Games squad and a director of 56 Degree North, a communications company, according to her bio on X (previously Twitter).