The release date for the Ozzy Osbourne documentary has been confirmed after the BBC pulled the program last month amid concerns from the late rocker's family that it was rushed.
Ozzzy Osbourne: Coming Home, billed as a moving and inspirational account of the star's final chapter, had been scheduled to run on BBC One and iPlayer last month before sudden removal from TV listings with no public explanation. The BBC and the film’s producers had been racing against Paramount+ to air unseen footage from the rock icon’s final years, a competition the Osbourne family publicly cautioned against.
Paramount+ on Wednesday confirmed it would air its documentary, No Escape From Now, on October 7, a date it had always planned. Soon after, the BBC issued a statement saying Coming Home would drop five days earlier, on October 2 at 9 p.m. The move marks a rare alignment of two competing projects about Osbourne, amid the family’s concerns about the tone and pace of the coverage.
Osbourne died on July 22 at the age of 76 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease diagnosed in 2019. He was buried a week later on July 30 at a private ceremony on the Osbourne family estate in Buckinghamshire, attended by his wife Sharon and their children, along with friends from the rock world.
The BBC described Coming Home as a three-year, intimate documentary that captures the Osbourne family's extraordinary rollercoaster, including Ozzy and Sharon's attempt to move back to the United Kingdom, his effort to finish a final tour with Black Sabbath, and the dramatic health challenges he faced in his last months. Kelly Osbourne and other family members weigh in on the impact of his illness and his enduring legacy.
Official death records listed three causes of death: out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, acute myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease, along with Parkinson's disease with autonomic dysfunction. In a statement, the Osbourne family said he died surrounded by love, noting the loss in terms of profound sadness and gratitude for the support of fans and friends.
The two documentary projects were produced in close proximity, with insiders describing the situation as a race to air first. A source familiar with the productions said the Osbourne family hoped that moving forward with both releases within days of one another would transform the period into a celebratory TV landmark dedicated to the rock icon.
Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell concert, Back To The Beginning, was staged three weeks before his death at Villa Park in Birmingham. More than 42,000 fans attended the show, where he thanked the crowd with the line, "You've no idea how I feel - thank you from the bottom of my heart."