''Big Shot'' is an American

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series created by

David E. Kelley David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is an American television writer, producer, and former attorney, known as the creator of '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'', '' Picket Fences'', ''Chicago Hope'', ''The Practice'', '' Ally McBeal'', ''Boston Publi ...

Dean Lorey Dean Lorey (born November 17, 1967) is an American writer and producer whose projects include films such as ''Major Payne'' and '' Animal Crackers'', and television series which include ''My Wife and Kids'', ''Arrested Development'', ''The Crazy O ...

and

Brad Garrett Bradley Henry Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Possessing a distinctive deep voice, he has appeared in numerous television and film roles in both live-action and ...

for

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

starring

John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the Da ...

Jessalyn Gilsig Jessalyn Sarah Gilsig (born November 30, 1971) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Lauren Davis in ''Boston Public'', Gina Russo in ''Nip/Tuck'', Terri Schuester in '' Glee'', and as Siggy Haraldson in ''Vikings''. Early li ...

, and

Yvette Nicole Brown Yvette Nicole Brown (born August 12, 1971) is an American actress, comedian, writer and host. She starred as Shirley Bennett on the NBC sitcom ''Community'', as Dani in the 2015 version of ''The Odd Couple'' on CBS and as Dina Rose on the ABC sit ...

. The series premiered on April 16, 2021. In September 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 12, 2022.

Premise

The series follows Marvyn Korn, a temperamental basketball coach who is fired from his job at the University at Wisconsin and relocates to California to coach a girls’ basketball team at Westbrook School, an elite high school for girls.

Cast and characters

Main

as Marvyn Korn, a temperamental basketball coach who coaches at Westbrook School for Girls in San Diego, California *

as Holly Barrett, the Westbrook Sirens' good natured down-to-earth assistant coach and a biology teacher at the school * Richard Robichaux as George Pappas (season 1), the school counselor at Westbrook School for Girls * Sophia Mitri Schloss as Emma Korn, Marvyn's teenage daughter * Nell Verlaque as Louise Gruzinsky, the Westbrook Sirens' star player and point guard. The school's gym was named after her family. * Tiana Le as Destiny Winters, the Westbrook Sirens' power forward. Because she lost her father several years ago, she forms a bond with Coach Korn. * Monique Green as Olive Cooper (season 1), a Westbrook Sirens player who is obsessed with using social media. She doesn't come from a wealthy family. * Tisha Eve Custodio as Carolyn "Mouse" Smith, a Westbrook Sirens' player who comes from a military background * Cricket Wampler as Samantha Finkman, the Westbrook Sirens' shooting guard *

as Sherilyn Thomas, the no-nonsense dean of Westbrook School for Girls * Sara Echeagaray as Ava (season 2), a former star volleyball player who comes to Westbrook after washing out of her sport in a manner similar to Coach Korn

Recurring

Toks Olagundoye Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke "Toks" Olagundoye (born 16 September 1975) is a Nigerian actress.Emery Kelly Forever in Your Mind (FIYM) is an American pop boy band formed in 2013, consisting of Emery Kelly, Ricky Garcia, and Liam Attridge. Their debut extended play, '' FIYM'', was released through Hollywood Records on July 1, 2016. History 2013–20 ...

as Dylan (season 1), Louise's best friend *

Darcy Rose Byrnes Darcy Rose Byrnes (born November 4, 1998) is an American and Irish actress, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for her roles as Abby Newman on ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', Penny Scavo on ''Desperate ...

as Harper Schapira, an intense journalist at the school, Miss Goodwyn's daughter, and Mouse's love interest * Dale Whibley as Lucas, Louise's older brother and Emma's initial love interest *

Kathleen Rose Perkins Kathleen Rose Perkins (born November 15, 1974) is an American actress. Life and career Perkins was born in New Baltimore, Michigan, the daughter of Leonard and Donna Perkins. She graduated from Anchor Bay High School (1992) and enrolled in We ...

as Miss Goodwyn (season 1), the drama teacher and drama club advisor at Westbrook School for Girls and Harper's mother * Daisha Graf as Angel (season 1), Destiny's aunt who is secretly her biological mother * Damian Alonso as Jake Matthews (season 1), a Carlsbad Cobras player and Olive's love interest *

Camryn Manheim Debra Frances "Camryn" Manheim (born March 8, 1961) is an American actress known for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's ''The Practice'', Delia Banks on CBS's '' Ghost Whisperer'', Gladys Presley in the 2005 miniseries ''Elvis'', and ...

as Coach McCarthy, the head coach of Westbrook Sirens' rival team Carlsbad Cobras *

Keala Settle Keala Joan Settle (born November 5, 1975) is an American actress and singer. Settle originated the role of Norma Valverde in '' Hands on a Hardbody'', which ran on Broadway in 2013, and was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk ...

as Christina Winters (season 1), Destiny's mother who is actually her aunt * Charlie Hall as Nick Russo (season 2) Louise and Ava's love interest. His family went bankrupt due to the embezzling of Louise's father, Larry Gruzinski. * Samuel-Taylor as Trevor Thomas (season 2), Sherilyn's son and Destiny's love interest * Stony Blyden as Jackson Hoover (season 2), Emma's love interest, who turns out to be a bad influence as he constantly gets her into trouble for his actions

Special guest stars

Tony Kornheiser Anthony Irwin Kornheiser (; born July 13, 1948) is an American television sports talk show host and former sportswriter and columnist. Kornheiser is best known for his endeavors in three forms of media: as a writer for ''The Washington Post'' from ...

as himself (season 1) *

Michael Wilbon Michael Wilbon (; born ) is an American commentator for ESPN and former sportswriter and columnist for ''The Washington Post''. He is an analyst for ESPN and has co-hosted ''Pardon the Interruption'' on ESPN since 2001. Early life and education ...

as himself (season 1) * Stan Verrett as himself (season 2)

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2022)

Production

Development

In October 2019,

ordered a ten-episode hour-long dramedy based on an original idea by

, who pitched the idea to

and developed it along with

. The trio along with

Bill D'Elia William D'Elia is an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. Life D'Elia grew up in Queens, New York City, and is a second generation Italian-American. He graduated from Ithaca College, and earned a master's degree in communicatio ...

were to executive produce with

ABC Signature ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. T ...

acting as the Production house. Lorey was to write the script and D'Elia to direct the first episode. On September 2, 2021, Disney+ renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

With the announcement of the series in October 2019 it was revealed that

had been cast in the lead role. In late October, the casting of the series regulars were released, attaching

Shiri Appleby Shiri Freda Appleby (born December 7, 1978) is an American actress and television director. She is best known for her leading roles as Liz Parker in the WB/UPN science fiction drama series '' Roswell'' (1999–2002) and Rachel Goldberg in the L ...

as assistant coach and

as dean of the school, along with Richard Robichaux as George, Sophia Mitri Schloss as Emma, Nell Verlaque as Louise, Tiana Le as Destiny, Monique Green as Olive Cooper, Tisha Custodio as Carolyn "Mouse" Smith, and Cricket Wampler as Samantha Finkman. In late January 2020, it was revealed that

had replaced

as Holly to make the character a contemporary to Stamos' role. On November 19, 2020,

and Emery Kelly were cast in recurring roles. On April 30, 2021,

, Daisha Graf, and Dale Whibley were cast in recurring roles. On May 13, 2021, it was reported that

was set to recur while

Marla Gibbs Marla Gibbs (born Margaret Theresa Bradley; June 14, 1931) is an American actress, singer, comedian, writer and television producer, whose career spans six decades. Gibbs is known for her role as George Jefferson's maid, Florence Johnston, in th ...

was cast to guest star. On August 15, 2022, Charlie Hall joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the second season.

Filming

Principal photography for ''Big Shot'' began in November 2019 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In March 2020, production was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Production for the series also shut down for a day in November after a COVID-19 test that resulted in being a negative, and for the rest of 2020 in December after a COVID-19 test that resulted in being a positive. Filming resumed in early January 2021, but was paused again at the end of the month after a second positive COVID-19 test. Filming then resumed two weeks later. Production for the second season began in early 2022.

Release

The series premiered on April 16, 2021, releasing weekly on Fridays. The second season was released on October 12, 2022.

Reception

Critical reception

Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported an approval rating of 78% based on 23 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Big Shot'' struggles to find much new to say, but it boasts strong performances, a sweet disposition, and, with a little perseverance, could become a show worth rooting for."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

gave the series a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 11 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Jen Chaney of ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' appreciated the series for its depiction of a basketball team composed of female players instead of male players, stating it portrays some of the obstacles women can face in sport, and complimented the performances of the cast, especially John Stamos and Tiana Le's, while giving a positive take on the development of Stamos' character through his relationships. Daniel Fienberg of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' appreciated the show for its avoidance of easy punchlines by not providing clichés compared to some other sitcoms, praised the characterization and development of Stamos' character, while complimenting performances of the cast and the chemistry between the characters, but stated that the series does not develop some characters enough. Joel Keller of ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' *'' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machine th ...

'' praised the performances of the cast, especially Stamos, stating the actor manages to provide the mannerisms of an intense coach, while saying that the series stays well written despite being predictable at times. Joyce Slaton of ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, praised the depiction of positive messages, such as perseverance and teamwork, and complimented the presence of positive role models, citing with John Stamos and Jessalyn Gilsi's characters for the advice and lessons they provide to other characters. Pradeep Menon of ''

Firstpost ''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18. The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Raghav ...

'' rated the series 3 out of 5 stars, found the show refreshing for its quick resolution of dramatic moments, complimented the performances of the cast members, and appreciated the depiction of same-sex romance as regular relationships. Kristen Lopez of IndieWire gave the show a C+ rating, praised the performances of the cast members, especially Stamos, and complimented ''Big Shot'' for avoiding clichés, but found that the series does not develop some characters enough, while stating that the script sometimes feels old-fashioned.

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{Disney+ original series 2020s American comedy-drama television series 2020s American high school television series 2020s American teen drama television series 2021 American television series debuts 2020s American LGBT-related television series American sports television series Basketball television series Disney+ original programming English-language television shows Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television series by ABC Studios Television series created by David E. Kelley Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in San Diego