Newcastle United have taken aim at local rivals Sunderland with a sly, humorous dig about the upcoming return of the Black Cats’ Netflix series ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’.

The Black Cats and the Magpies shared a very strong rivalry throughout their history and the most recent iterations being in the Premier League, back when both plied their trade in England’s top flight.

However, recent years have not been kind to the Wearsiders as their fall from grace has seen them relegated not once, but twice as they currently sit in League One.

It’s been a delightful spell, obviously, for those of a Newcastle persuasion as they see their bitter rivals languish in England’s third tier, and the St. James’ Park satisfaction got all the sweeter when Sunderland fell to a play-off final defeat at the hands of former Magpie Lee Bowyer and his Charlton Athletic side last May, as a 95th-minute winner consigned them to another season in League One.

Streaming service Netflix commissioned a documentary based on Sunderland’s demise from the Premier League and while it was a successful series, it didn’t help the Black Cats escape the teasing from other fans.

They have now announced that a second series will be airing on Netflix from April 1st (ironically), and this led to a lot of joke-making from other fans, along with Newcastle’s official twitter account getting in on the act:

An interesting side note is that the series' theme tune was composed by a man called Marty Longstaff, adding ore of that surname to the melting pot, as Sean and Matty Longstaff shine at St. James'.

Can you take on this Sunderland left-foot/right-foot challenge?

The verdict

It’s good to see documentaries like these as they give great insight into the life inside a football club that otherwise wouldn’t be available.

However, it’s also no surprise that Newcastle have got in on the act to poke fun at the situation, given their current differences in standing.

Sunderland will be hoping that they can cap off this premiere with a promotion rather than their season ending in heartache once again.

Phil Parkinson has restored a lot of positivity to the club in recent weeks and his performances are pushing the side even closer to promotion than last season.