Swagger (TV series)

Swagger is an American sports drama television series created by Reggie Rock Bythewood. Loosely inspired by the experiences of NBA player Kevin Durant, the series premiered on October 29, 2021 on Apple TV+. In June 2022, the series was renewed for a second season. In November 2023, the series was canceled after two seasons.

Swagger has garnered critical acclaim from critics for its writing, acting (primarily Jackson's and Hill's), production values and social commentary.

Premise
Swagger explores the world of youth basketball, and the players, their families and coaches who walk the fine line between dreams and ambition, and opportunism and corruption.

Main

 * O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ike “Icon” Edwards
 * Isaiah Hill as Jace Carson
 * Shinelle Azoroh as Jenna Carson
 * Tessa Ferrer as Meg Bailey
 * Quvenzhané Wallis as Crystal Jarrett
 * Caleel Harris as Musa Rahim
 * James Bingham as Drew Murphy
 * Solomon Irama as Phil Marksby
 * Ozie Nzeribe as Royale Hughes
 * Jason Rivera-Torres as Nick Mendez
 * Tristan Wilds as Alonzo Powers
 * Christina Jackson as Tonya Edwards (recurring season 1, main season 2), Ike's wife.
 * Sean Baker as Naim Rahim (recurring season 1, main season 2), Swagger's deputy coach and Musa's father.
 * Orlando Jones as Emory Price (season 2)
 * Shannon Brown as CJ Ryder (season 2), Cedar Cove basketball player

Recurring

 * Marc Blucas as Coach Bobby, a rival team coach.
 * Jordan Rice as Jackie Carson, Jenna's daughter and Jace's older sister.
 * Al Mitchell as Coach Warrick, Crystal's basketball coach who abuses his players.
 * Javen Lewis as Vince Charles, a Swagger player.
 * Tracey Bonner as Angie Jarrett, Crystal's mother.
 * Monique Grant as Kiesha Marksby, Phil's mother.
 * Marti O. Pruitt as Jeremiah Jarrett, Crystal's father.
 * Miles Mussenden as Brett Hughes, Royale's father and a financial backer of Swagger.
 * Misha Gonz-Cirkl as Teresa Mendez, Nick's mother
 * Avery Serell Wills Jr. as Ricky, a Swagger player.
 * Nadej K. Bailey as Tamika, Musa's love interest
 * Kurt Lamarr as Coach Charlie Edwards, Ike's father
 * Arischa Conner as Apocalypse Anne
 * Katie Killacky as Eva Murphy, Drew's mother
 * Brian K. Landis as Warren Murphy, Drew's father
 * Caroline Elizabeth Gregory as Amber Gibbons (season 2), Jace's high school girlfriend
 * RJ Thomas as Johnny Fitzpatrick (season 2), Cedar Cove basketball player
 * Wayne Hughes as Seymour Greyson (season 2)
 * Christopher B. Duncan as Camden Ryder Sr. (season 2), CJ's father
 * Vinessa Shaw as Diane (season 2), Chairwoman of the Cedar Cove Prep School Board
 * Arlise Rae Minter as Kathryn Edwards (season 2), Ike's daughter
 * Catherine Owens as Rae
 * Kaci Barker as Drea

Guest

 * Jetta Strayhorn as Michelle, Crystal's basketball teammate abused by Coach Warrick (season one)
 * Andrew C. Williams as Kai
 * Robert Crayton as Barber Marvin
 * Jared Wofford as Harold Phillips
 * Gwen L. Johnson as Cynthia
 * Tedd Taskey as Mike Reese (season 2)
 * John Carlos as himself

Development
Apple began developing the project in February 2018, and it was ordered in December 2018 as a sports drama television series titled Swagger from Kevin Durant and Reggie Rock Bythewood. Bythewood will be the showrunner, writer, director, and executive producer with Durant, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Rich Kleiman, and Samantha Corbin Miller executive producing. On June 15, 2022, Apple renewed the series for a second season. On November 30, 2023, Apple announced that the series was canceled after two seasons.

Casting
In October 2019, Deadline Hollywood reported that Winston Duke was cast as the lead, but in February 2020, Duke suffered an injury on set and was replaced with O’Shea Jackson Jr. On July 9, 2020, Quvenzhané Wallis joined the series in the role of Crystal, and on January 15, 2021, Isaiah Hill, Shinelle Azoroh, Tristan Mack Wilds, Caleel Harris, Tessa Ferrer, Jason Rivera, Solomon Irama, Ozie Nzeribe, and James Bingham were all revealed to have been cast. On August 11, 2022, Orlando Jones and Shannon Brown joined the cast as series regulars, while Christina Jackson and Sean Baker were promoted to series regulars for the second season.

Filming
Alongside the casting of Winston Duke, Deadline Hollywood reported that filming would occur in October 2019. After Duke’s injury in February 2020, filming was delayed due to recasting, and was then delayed even further due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By December 2020, filming restarted in Richmond, Virginia, with filming also taking place in Hopewell, Virginia in March 2021. In April 2021, filming wrapped for the series.