''Ball in the Family'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

series that premiered on August 29, 2017 on

Facebook Watch Facebook Watch is a video on demand service operated by American company Meta Platforms (previously named Facebook, Inc.). The company announced the service in August 2017 and was available to all U.S. users that month. Facebook Watch's original ...

. The show documents the personal and professional lives of the Ball family. The sixth season premiered on October 18, 2020.

Cast

Main

Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earn ...

, the eldest son in the Ball family, and current guard for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

LiAngelo Ball LiAngelo Robert Ball (born November 24, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. Ball played for Chino Hills High School in California, where he won a state championship and achieved nati ...

, the middle son in the Ball family, and current guard for the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse. The team became ...

LaMelo Ball LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. ...

, the youngest son in the Ball family, and current guard for the Charlotte Hornets *

LaVar Ball LaVar Christopher Ball (born October 23, 1967) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA ...

, the patriarch of the Ball family, owner of Big Baller Brand, and founder of Junior Basketball Association * Tina Ball, the matriarch of the Ball family

Recurring

* Denise Garcia, Lonzo's on and off girlfriend and mother of his daughter * Zoey Ball, Lonzo and Denise's baby daughter * Alan Foster (seasons 1–4), LaVar's former business partner * Darren "DMO" Moore, Lonzo’s manager and family friend * Horace, family friend * Noni Slatinsky, Tina's mother * Robert Slatinsky, Tina's father * Anderson Ball, LaVar's father * Maria Ball, LaVar's mother * LaValle Ball, LaVar's brother * Ren Ball, LaVar's brother *'Dre Ball, LaVar's brother * Jhaylen Ball, LaVar's niece * Andre Ball, LaVar's nephew

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2017)

In the last episode, it is revealed that Lamelo Ball is dating Ashley Alvano (they later break up in January/February 2019).

Season 2 (2017–18)

Season 3 (2018)

Season 4 (2018–19)

Season 5 (2019–20)

Season 6 (2020)

Production

Development

On July 5, 2017, it was announced that Facebook had greenlit a then-untitled reality show starring the Ball family. The number and length of episodes had yet to be determined at the time. On October 17, 2017, it was announced that Facebook had renewed the show for a second season. On May 14, 2018, it was reported that the show had been renewed for a third season. The show is referred to internally by Facebook as one of their "hero shows" alongside other programs such as '' Strangers'' and '' Returning the Favor''.

Music

The series' theme song was "Big Bag" by Wes Period. A friend of Period's was working with the Ball family to find music for the show and told him about it. Period came to them with his song and they told him that they would use in the end credits of an episode. Instead, the producers of the series ended up making it the show's official theme.

Reception

Critical response

The first season was met with a generally positive reception from critics. Haley O'Shaughnessy of The Ringer claimed that the show "combines everything you’d expect with a touch of nuance and sympathy." Myron Medcalf of

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

compared the show favorably to other Bunim/Murray production ''

Keeping Up with the Kardashians ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' (often abbreviated ''KUWTK'') is an American reality television series which focused on the personal and professional lives of the Kardashian–Jenner blended family, airing between 2007 and 2021. Its prem ...

'' saying that "unlike the Kardashians, who never really care about authenticity, ''Ball in the Family'' tries to be sympathetic to the Ball patriarch while showing his brashness isn’t just there to generate social media buzz."

Viewership

The show premiered on Facebook Watch on August 29, 2017 and the first episode was viewed by more than 26 million people.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball in the Family Facebook Watch original programming 2010s American reality television series 2017 American television series debuts 2020 American television series endings English-language television shows American non-fiction web series Television series by Bunim/Murray Productions