The star-studded series has been renewed for season two.
The ten-episode first season of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty chronicles the Los Angelos Lakers in the 1980s during their famed “showtime” era. Winning Time is all about big talent and the big personalities behind some of the greatest players to ever step on the court.
The sprawling cast includes Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson; Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; and John C. Reilly as Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Jason Clarke, Adrien Brody, and Sally Field are among the many famous faces to pop up during Winning Time— an over-the-top, highly-stylized romp through the 80s.
Rodney Barnes served as an executive producer on Winning Time and has writing credits on 9 of the series’ ten episodes. As Barnes puts it, working on the show required him “to wear many hats”—honor the icons portrayed while making entertaining television that uses basketball to tell a larger story of the dark underbelly of fame.
The accuracy of the series has become a major point of contention, but with cheer-worthy basketball sequences and blustering performances, Winning Time is time well spent.
Watch Awards Daily interview with Rodney Barnes below:
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is available to watch via HBO.