The Los Angeles Lakers currently have Lebron James. They were the team of Kobe Bryant, who led them to multiple championships, including three in a row with Shaquille O’Neal. But the modern day myth around the Los Angeles Lakers began in the 1980s and that era is going to be the setting for the new HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which just debuted its first trailer.
Based on Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, Winning Time will follow the creation of the Lakers team that came to define the era in the NBA known as “Showtime,” led on the court by Magic Johnson and off of it by owner Jerry Buss.
Produced by Adam McKay (who is also set to direct one of the 10 episodes), Winning Time will star John C. Reilly as Buss, Adrien Brody as Lakers coach Pat Riley, Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jason Clark as Jerry West, DeVaugh Nixon as Norm Nixon, Sally Field as Jessie Buss, Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss, Gaby Hoffman as Claire Rothman, Jason Segel as Paul Westhead, Tamera Tomakili as Earlitha “Cookie” Kelly, Rob Morgan as Earvin Johnson Sr. and introduces Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson.
The trailer, which you can watch below, highlights the late 70s/early 80s look the show will have and plenty of the pizazz to highlight the kind of energy these Lakers brought to the sports world. Plus, for film fans, a quick inclusion of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s memorable appearance in the film Airplane.
Winning Time will premiere on HBO and stream on HBO Max in March.
HBO is still one of the premiere networks for TV (and with its streaming exclusive HBO Max originals), in the last year having produced shows like Hacks, Mare of Easttown, Succession season 3 and the brand new Sex in the City continuation And Just Like That … . Winning Time is just one of the exciting new shows it will have in 2022, joining the likes of Game of Thrones prequel series House of Dragon.
HBO can be included or added on to both traditional cable/satellite TV subscriptions or onto live TV streaming services YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV, or you can have access to all of what HBO has to offer by singing up for HBO Max.
