Pinar Toprak Composes New Theme for Prime Video’s ‘Thursday Night Football’: Hear It Now

August 18, 2022 E Jazz Reporter

Composer Pinar Toprak continues to knock down barriers for women in music. In 2019, she became the first woman to compose the score for a Marvel film with Captain Marvel (and, in the process, became the first woman to score a billion-dollar-grossing film).

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Now the Emmy-nominated composer has become the first woman to write an original theme for the NFL with the theme for Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football.

The Prime Video Sports Theme, which debuts below, will premiere with the preseason kick-off game between the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans on Aug. 25. The driving, propulsive track soars and builds with a tension that mimics the tense action on the field. It is the first new NFL broadcast theme in 16 years.

“It has been a tremendous honor and pleasure to be a part of Thursday Night Football, working alongside the inspiring teams at Prime Video,” said Toprak, who recorded the theme over two days this summer at Nashville’s Ocean Way Studios with an 80-piece orchestra. “Our goal was to create a memorable theme that is both current and timeless. We leaned on the big brass and muscular energy of legacy scores, in combination with unique, lyrical moments, to achieve a feeling of heart and soul. I could not be more excited to share this new anthem with the world, and hope it will connect with fans and players alike as we make TNF history.”

“Pinar is a remarkable talent at the top of her craft, and a joy to work with,” added Marie Donoghue, Prime Video’s vp, global sports video. “We believe she has delivered an epic and timeless theme that will elevate our presentation and become synonymous with TNF on Prime Video for years to come.”

It sounds like Toprak was the ultimate team player when it came to crafting the song. “I’ve been lucky to be involved with multiple NFL theme-music projects, and this was the most intelligent and collaborative approach that I’ve ever been a part of,” said Fred Gaudelli, executive producer of Thursday Night Football. “Pinar was outstanding from the start, gave thoughtful consideration to our feedback along the way, and composed a score that features intensity, drama, and a ‘hummable hook’ that gets inside and stays with you.”

Raised in Istanbul, Toprak studied film scoring at Berklee College of Music. She has climbed to the heights of scoring for visual media, having tackled video games (Fortnite), animated shorts (Pixar’s Purl), TV series (Stargirl, McMillions), the main theme for Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park, various theatrical movies and Christina Aguilera’s 2019 Las Vegas show.