It’s official: the Lakers will be back at HBO for another season.
HBO has renewed Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty for season 2. Based on the book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s by Jeff Pearlman, “the fast-break series chronicles 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.” The first season will wrap up on May 8.
HBO says the fifth episode of the season delivered “a series viewership high of 1.2 million viewers across platforms on premiere night, a 37% increase from the first episode.”
“It’s been a thrill to bring WINNING TIME to life with Adam McKay, Max Borenstein, our phenomenal producing team, and this incredible cast,” said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming. “This series not only tells the riveting story of the Lakers’ rise, but is also a look back at a transformative era in basketball, celebrity, and the city of Los Angeles. We can’t wait to see how this team will tell the next chapter of this dynasty.”
Season one’s cast includes John C. Reilly, Quincy Isaiah, Jason Clarke, Adrien Brody, Gaby Hoffmann, Tracy Letts, Jason Segel, Julianne Nicholson, Hadley Robinson, DeVaughn Nixon, Solomon Hughes, Tamera Tomakili, Brett Cullen, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Spencer Garrett, Sarah Ramos, Molly Gordon, Joey Brooks, Delante Desouza, Jimel Atkins, Austin Aaron, Jon Young with Rob Morgan and Sally Field.
Adam McKay directed the pilot and executive produces. Max Borenstein co-created the show with Jim Hecht. Rodney Barnes also writes and exec produces.
Shadow and Act spoke to Borenstein and Barnes about potential season 2 plans last month.
“[A miniseries] was the original plan,” said Barnes. “But then once we started to dig into the information, we saw that there was a lot more than just a miniseries here. And then when you think about it, and you go from the Showtime Lakers…[there are] a lot of the figures that are in our show now. Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Linda Rambis, you know, we’d go down the list of a lot of makers are still present there. So it’s not like you would be stopping one to start another if we were so blessed to be able to continue to tell the story. So, you know, as long as people want it and dig it, I’d love to be able to tell the story. And I know everybody, all of our collaborators would.”