After months of casting news and behind the scenes gossip, HBO has finally released the first trailer for its highly anticipated limited series following the Showtime Lakers.
Winning Time stars John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss, Adrien Brody as Pat Riley, Jason Clarke as Jerry West, Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, DeVaughn Nixon as Norm Nixon, Quincy Isaiah as Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jason Segel as Paul Westhead, Michael Chiklis as Red Auerbach and Sally Field as Jessie Buss.
The 10 episode series is based on the book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s” by Jeff Pearlman.
Per the official description: “A fast-break series chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties — a team that defined an era, both on and off the court.”
In case you weren’t watching basketball in the ‘80s, the Showtime Lakers were the biggest draw in sports and entertainment. Home games at the Fabulous Forum were an event. The Forum Club actually had a red carpet showcasing players and celebrity arrivals.
If you lived in LA, a Lakers game was the hottest, hardest to get ticket in town. At the time, nothing in sports compared to Magic, Kareem and Norm Nixon on a fast break.
Considering the stories that have come out over the years, it is well-known that things got extremely out of hand in some of the players, coaches and staff’s personal lives, so we’re wondering if Winning Time has any new secrets Lakers fans haven’t heard about already.
The trailer certainly makes it look like there will be no punches pulled, and it’s on HBO, which means there will be a lot of profanity.
Winning Time is executive produced by Adam McKay (The Big Short), who also directs the pilot.
The network hasn’t set a premiere date yet, but confirmed that the series will debut on HBO and HBO Max in March 2022.