Old Firm

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Lore & Background

The origin of the term is unclear but may derive from the two clubs' initial match in which the commentators referred to the teams as 'like two old, firm friends', or alternatively may stem from a satirical cartoon published in 'The Scottish Referee' sports newspaper prior to the 1904 Scottish Cup final between the sides, depicting an elderly man with a sandwich board reading 'Patronise The Old Firm: Rangers, Celtic Ltd', highlighting the mutual commercial benefits of their meetings. The name may also be a reference to these two teams being among the original eleven members of the Scottish Football League formed in 1890. At the turn of the 21st century, the two clubs jointly registered the 'Old Firm' term at the Intellectual Property Office; it was confirmed this was still being renewed as a trademark in 2021.

In Their Own Story

The concept of bringing these characters to television had been in the works for a few years with CBS having formerly been the expected network. Reiter conceived the recreation of the series 10 years into the future and proposed it to Grisham. Grisham oversaw the first three or four episode scripts and then became confident with its development. Sony Pictures Television ordered 22 episodes of the show from Entertainment One Television in late April 2011 for broadcast on their AXN stations in 125 markets outside of Canada and the U.S. Shortly thereafter, NBC and Shaw Media confirmed that they had acquired broadcast rights in the U.S. and Canada respectively. The show's 22 episode order was the largest of any of NBC's newly picked up shows. The show was filmed in Toronto and was produced by Entertainment One in association with Sony Pictures Television and Paramount Pictures. Filming of Season 1 took place between August 4, 2011 and April 30, 2012. The pilot was directed by David Straiton. Grisham served as an executive producer of the television series. Lukas Reiter, a former Law & Order producer, wrote the pilot and was the showrunner. Other executive producers were Entertainment One's John Morayniss, Michael Rosenberg, Noreen Halpern, and Helen Shaver. On June 8, 2011, it was announced that Josh Lucas had been cast in the lead role of Mitch McDeere. On July 12, Entertainment One announced the casting of Callum Keith Rennie as Ray McDeere and Juliette Lewis as Tammy. The addition of Molly Parker as Abby McDeere was announced on July 29. Natasha Calis was cast as Claire McDeere. Tricia Helfer and Shaun Majumder were added in recurring roles as Alex Clarke and Andrew Palmer on August 19 and 22. On July 19, 2011, CBS filed a lawsuit against Reiter and Entertainment One 'for tortious interference with contract, breach of contract, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing' because after CBS declined to commission a series from his script after paying him for it, Reiter reworked it, and Entertainment One agreed to produce it.

Reader's Guide

Between them the two clubs are among the most trophied in the world, having won a combined 111 Scottish League championships (Celtic with 56 and Rangers with 55), 77 Scottish Cups (Celtic with 43 and Rangers with 34), and 50 Scottish League Cups (Rangers with 28 and Celtic with 22). As of 10 May 2026, Celtic and Rangers have played each other 452 times in major competitions; both clubs have won 172 matches each, with 108 ending in a draw.

Did You Know?

• The rivalry has reflected and contributed to political, social and religious division and sectarianism in Scotland.
• In the early 2010s, Rangers endured financial difficulties, and its holding company was liquidated in 2012; subsequently, the club had to apply for entry to the bottom (fourth) tier of the Scottish league.
• In 2005 the presence of Rangers and Celtic was estimated to be worth £120 million to the Scottish economy each year.