LakeNow that we have more details about HBO’s upcoming Untitled Lakers Project, we are officially excited. Flat out, this show looks awesome.
Here is what you need to know: The show will be produced by Academy Award winner Adam McKay, who has directed comedies like Anchorman (2004) and dramas The Big Short (2015). He has also produced HBO shows Succession and Eastbound & Down. McKay, a former head writer for SNL, has range.
His collaborator Max Borenstein has already written all of the scripts for the first season and he says it will be structurally similar to Netflix’s The Crown. It is based on sportswriter Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.
Exclusive: HBO's Lakers series will be a love letter to basketball that resembles 'The Crown' in terms of its structure, writer @MaxBorenstein says in his first comments about the untitled show. https://t.co/nhYTlMUIGE
— Collider (@Collider) March 24, 2021
I’m a sucker for sports shows and period pieces, especially those set in my hometown of Los Angeles, so I’m already on board. But the most exciting element is the cast.
Many of the players on the Lakers will be depicted by first-time screen actors and we’re incredibly excited to see this new chapter of their careers.
Some of the emerging stars are former pro basketball player Solomon Hughes (who even played for the Harlem Globetrotters) as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michigan-native Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson and stage actor Delante Desouza as Michael Cooper.
The cast also includes recognizable some more recognizable names such as Zero Dark Thirty (2012) star Jason Clarke, Gaby Hoffman (Transparent), Tamera Tomakili (Fruitvale Station) and Michael Chiklis (The Shield).
Below are some of the other notable casting choices slated to star in the upcoming project about the Lakers.