“I’ve never been one of those artists that shied away from saying, ‘I’m a Black artist,’ and I feel empowered by saying that,” said Bythewood, who is the series’ writer, director, showrunner and executive producer. “I’m just really inspired to share those experiences and to do it from that lens. This is just a great American, universal story unapologetically told through a Black lens.”

With the world at his fingertips, Hill’s character goes through the ups and downs that come with being the star player of a community. With the help of his friend Crystal (Quvenzhané Wallis) and his coach Ike, he learns to make decisions that fully support who he is.

Wallis, who has never played sports, says that preparing for the role was one of the most rewarding parts of her role in Swagger.

“I worked out a lot and did a lot of research [for my role as] Crystal,” she recalled. “I wanted to be completely real, I wanted everything to be relatable, especially from a basketball standpoint because I didn’t really play basketball. So I wanted everything to look like a ball player through the lens of female ballers out there. I did the work and I put in a lot of hard work and I’m really proud of that. I’m also just proud of Swagger, I’m proud of everyone because we never let each other give up.”

Isaiah Hill

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