When it comes to sports stories that lend themselves well to a film or TV adaptation, you’d be hard-pressed to find one better than the story of Jerry Buss and the birth of the “Showtime” era of the Los Angeles Lakers in the late-‘70s, early-‘80s. And leave it to someone like Adam McKay to bring that story to life in the new HBO Max series, “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.”
As seen in the new trailer for ‘Winning Time,’ the series follows the aforementioned Lakers owner, Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly), as he goes from buying the NBA team to drafting Earvin “Magic” Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) and creating one of the most dominant, flashy sports dynasties of all time. And since we’re talking a period piece, Adam McKay, who directed the first episode and helped create the series, has adopted a retro style for the series, feeling as if you’re watching a fun, wild episode of ESPN’s “30 for 30.”
The incredible cast (which takes up a good portion of the teaser) includes John C. Reilly, Quincy Isaiah, Jason Clarke, Adrien Brody, Gaby Hoffman, Tracy Letts, Jason Segel, Julianne Nicholson, Hadley Robinson, Dr. Solomon Hughes, Tamera Tomakili, Brett Cullen, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Joey Brooks, Sarah Ramos, Spencer Garrett, Molly Gordon, DeVaughn Nixon, Delante Desouza, Jimel Atkins, Austin Aaron, Jon Young, Rob Morgan, and Sally Field. I mean, come on! This is just an embarrassment of riches.
“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” is set to debut on HBO Max in March 2022. You can watch the first trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis:
It’s gonna be exciting. From Adam McKay, director of ‘The Big Short’ and ‘Vice’ comes a story about the rise of basketball Hall Of Famer Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) and the lengths one man (John C. Reilly) will go in pursuit of securing a basketball dynasty.
