''Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty'' is an American

sports drama A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the spor ...

television series created by

Max Borenstein Max Borenstein (born June 20, 1981) is an American screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the ''MonsterVerse'' film series featuring classic Kaiju of Toho's Godzilla mythos, including writing ''Godzilla'' (2014) and '' Kong: Skull Isl ...

and Jim Hecht for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, based on the book ''Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s'' by

Jeff Pearlman Jeff Pearlman (born 1972) is an American sports writer. He has written nine books that have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list: four about football, three on baseball and two about basketball. He was the author of the infamous 1999 Jo ...

. The first season, comprising 10 episodes, chronicles the 1980s

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

era of the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

basketball team (beginning in late 1979), featuring notable

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

stars

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It features an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

led by

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in ''Days of Thunder'' (1990), ''Wh ...

, Jason Clarke, Jason Segel, Gaby Hoffmann, Rob Morgan, and Adrien Brody. The series premiered on March 6, 2022, with the pilot episode directed by Adam McKay. In April 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise

The series is a

dramatization A dramatization is the creation of a dramatic performance of material depicting real or fictional events. Dramatization may occur in any media, and can play a role in education and the psychological development of children. The production of a d ...

of the professional and personal lives of the 1980s

basketball teams.

Cast

Main

as Jerry Buss * Quincy Isaiah as

* Jason Clarke as Jerry West * Adrien Brody as Pat Riley * Gaby Hoffmann as Claire Rothman *

Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received ...

as Jack McKinney * Jason Segel as Paul Westhead * Julianne Nicholson as Cranny McKinney *

Hadley Robinson Hadley Robinson (born December 6, 1994) is an American actress. She studied at Juilliard School. Her roles include the box office hit '' Little Women'' (2019), where she plays Sallie Gardiner Moffat, the television series ''Utopia'' (2020) in the ...

as Jeanie Buss * DeVaughn Nixon as Norm Nixon * Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar * Tamera Tomakili as Earletha "Cookie" Kelly * Brett Cullen as

Bill Sharman William Walton Sharman (May 25, 1926 – October 25, 2013) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what was then considered ...

* Stephen Adly Guirgis as Frank Mariani * Spencer Garrett as

Chick Hearn Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn (November 27, 1916 – August 5, 2002) was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years. Hearn is remembered for his rapid f ...

Sarah Ramos Sarah Emily Ramos (born May 21, 1991) is an American actress who began her career as a child actress. She is known for her roles on the television series ''American Dreams'' (2002–2005) and '' Parenthood'' (2010–2015). Early life Ramos was ...

as Cheryl Pistono * Molly Gordon as Linda Zafrani * Joey Brooks as Lon Rosen * Delante Desouza as Michael Cooper * Jimel Atkins as Jamaal Wilkes * Austin Aaron as Mark Landsberger * Jon Young as

Brad Holland John Bradley Holland (born December 6, 1956) is a retired American professional basketball player. He played for four years at UCLA (from 1975 to 1979). He was a member of the 1980 Los Angeles Lakers championship team. He was the University of Sa ...

* Rob Morgan as Earvin Johnson Sr. *

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film F ...

as Jessie Buss

Recurring

* Michael Chiklis as Red Auerbach *

LisaGay Hamilton LisaGay Hamilton (born March 25, 1964) is an American actress who has portrayed roles in films, television, and on stage. She is best known for her role as secretary/lawyer Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama ''The Practice'' (1997–2003). ...

as Christine Johnson * Michael O'Keefe as

Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (October 25, 1912 – April 6, 1997) was a Canadian-American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and news ...

*Kate Arrington as JoAnn Mueller * Sean Patrick Small as Larry Bird * David Purdham as Larry O'Brien * Kirk Bovill as Donald Sterling * Rickey Eugene Brown as Quincy Johnson * Darone Okolie as Larry Johnson * Andy Hirsch as David Stern *

Lola Kirke Lola Clementine Kirke (born 27 September 1990) is a British-American actress and singer-songwriter. She starred in the 2015 film ''Mistress America'' and the Amazon Studios television series ''Mozart in the Jungle.'' She appeared in '' Gone Girl ...

as Karen West *

Rachel Hilson Rachel Naomi Hilson (born October 30, 1995) is an American actress. She started her career in 2010 with a recurring role on the CBS legal drama ''The Good Wife'' as Nisa Dalmar. She has also had recurring roles on NBC's ''Rise'' and ''This Is Us'' ...

as Cindy Day *

Steve Harris Steve Harris may refer to: * Steve Harris (musician) (born 1956), founder member and bassist of the band Iron Maiden * Steve Harris (actor) (born 1965), American film and TV actor * Steve Harris (basketball) (1963–2016), American basketball playe ...

as Dr. Thomas Day * Carter Redwood as Brian * Lucy Walters as Beverly * Gillian Jacobs as Chris Riley * Rory Cochrane as Jerry Tarkanian * Danny Burstein as Vic Weiss * Ta'Nika Gibson as

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an ...

* Terence Davis as

Adrian Dantley Adrian Delano Dantley (born February 28, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dantley is a six-time NBA All-Star, a two-time All-NBA selection an ...

* Rodney Barnes as Maurice * Nell Sherman as Maude * Newton Mayenge as Jim Chones * Wood Harris as

Spencer Haywood Spencer Haywood (born April 22, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and Olympic gold medalist. Haywood is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2015. High school career In 1964, Haywo ...

Edwin Hodge Edwin Martel Basil Hodge (born January 26, 1985) is an American actor. He is recognized for portraying Dante Bishop in ''The Purge'' film series, and is the only actor to appear in all of the first three films. Early life Hodge was born on Jan ...

as Ron Boone * Ja'Quan Cole as

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...

* Jynediah Gittens as Kenny Carr * Michael AG Scott as Butch Lee * Mike Epps as Richard Pryor * Max E. Williams as Jack Nicholson * Carina Conti as

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

* Mariama Diallo as

Iman Iman, Imann, Imaan, Eman, Emaan, or Imman may refer to: Places * Iman, Iran, a village in Kalashi District, Kermanshah Province * The Iman River, the former name of the Bolshaya Ussurka River, a tributary of the Ussuri River in Russia's Primors ...

Orlando Jones Orlando Jones (born April 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for being one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy series ''MADtv'', for his role as the 7 Up spokesman from 1999 to 2002, and for his role a ...

as Elgin Baylor * James Lesure as Julius Erving

Episodes

Production

Development

On April 20, 2014, screenwriter Jim Hecht flew across the country to the home of sportswriter

. He pitched an adaptation of Pearlman's best-seller ''Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty'' that would be similar to the TV show '' Friday Night Lights''. According to '' The Hollywood Reporter'', Hecht brought Pearlman a bottle of nonalcoholic wine, a block of chocolate, and a tomato as an offering to convince Pearlman to sell him the rights to the book. "I had no money, so if he'd been like, '$30,000,' I would've been screwed," Hecht recalled. Pearlman, who had optioned several of his books where "nothing ever happened", agreed to let Hecht shop his book around town for a year. In 2015, producer Kevin Messick convinced Adam McKay to direct the pilot and produce. In April 2019,

ordered a pilot of the series, which was written by

with a story by Borenstein and Hecht. The series was initially referred to by the working title ''Showtime'', after Pearlman's book and the Lakers era that inspired it. By that summer, the series was described as being untitled, with HBO executive Casey Bloys later acknowledging that the title would have caused marketplace confusion given that one of HBO's direct premium TV and streaming competitors is also named

. In December, HBO officially greenlit a series order. On December 8, 2021, HBO announced that the series would be titled ''Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty''; according to Bloys, "Winning Time" is a phrase that was already associated with Magic Johnson. On April 7, 2022, HBO renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

Francine Maisler is the show's casting director. In August 2019, Jason Clarke and Michael Shannon were cast to portray Jerry West and Jerry Buss respectively. However, the next month Shannon would exit due to creative differences, and Buss would be recast with John C. Reilly. Shannon reportedly did not like the fourth wall breaking format of the show and found it difficult to work with. Will Ferrell had actively pursued the role of Buss since McKay had first started developing the series; however, McKay did not feel he was right for the role and instead cast Reilly without telling Ferrell. Upon learning of the decision via a phone call from Reilly, Ferrell was so infuriated that he ended his friendship and professional relationship with McKay. Quincy Isaiah and Solomon Hughes were additionally cast to play

and Kareem Abdul Jabbar after an extensive casting search. DeVaughn Nixon was added to the cast to portray Norm Nixon. By March 2021, additional castings including Adrien Brody,

, Michael Chiklis,

Bo Burnham Robert Pickering "Bo" Burnham (born 1990) is an American comedian, musician, songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. His comedy work often combines musical, sketch, and stand-up elements with filmmaking. Following his success as one of the earliest ...

, Jason Segel,

, Brett Cullen, and

were announced. In May 2021, Rory Cochrane, Danny Burstein, Austin Aaron, Ta'Nika Gibson,

Terence Davis Terence B. Davis II (born May 16, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ole Miss Rebels. After going undrafted in the 2019 ...

, and Ja'Quan Cole joined the cast. In June 2021, Mike Epps, Max E. Williams, Carina Conti and Mariama Diallo joined the cast. In August 2021, Burnham exited the project due to scheduling conflicts while Sean Patrick Small, Rachel Hilson, Olli Haaskivi, Newton Mayenge, and Jon Young joined the cast, with Small replacing Burnham.

Filming

Principal photography for the first season began in Los Angeles on April 12, 2021, and concluded on October 31. It was confirmed via Twitter that production on the second season started on August 24, 2022.

Release

Alongside the title announcement in December 2021, HBO announced the series would debut in March 2022, with the premiere date subsequently set for Sunday, March 6 and aired an episode weekly, concluding the season on May 8, 2022.

Home media

The first season was released on October 4, 2022, on Blu-ray and DVD.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an 84% approval rating based on 56 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Gleefully excessive in both form and function, ''Winning Time'' pairs a larger-than-life roster of characters with whiplash style to deliver an absolute slam dunk." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 68 out of 100, based on 29 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Reactions from Lakers

The series received criticism from

and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for historical inaccuracies. Johnson said he would not watch the series because it never depicted the Showtime era accurately, while Abdul-Jabbar referred to the series as deliberately dishonest. On April 19, 2022, Jerry West demanded a retraction from HBO within two weeks for the "cruel" and "deliberately false" depiction of him as a temperamental, foul-mouthed executive prone to angry outbursts and mood swings. A week later, HBO responded to West with the following statement: "HBO has a long history of producing compelling content drawn from actual facts and events that are fictionalized in part for dramatic purposes. ''Winning Time'' is not a documentary and has not been presented as such. However, the series and its depictions are based on extensive factual research and reliable sourcing, and HBO stands resolutely behind our talented creators and cast who have brought a dramatization of this epic chapter in basketball history to the screen." West, in turn, has said that he intends to pursue legal action against HBO for defamation, even if he has to "take this all the way to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, on the other hand, called his portrayal on the series a blessing.

Ratings

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, United States, Television, 1980s, Biography, Sports, Basketball 2022 American television series debuts American sports television series 2020s American drama television series Basketball television series HBO original programming Los Angeles Lakers Television controversies in the United States Television series set in the 1980s Television shows based on non-fiction books Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by Home Box Office