Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is an American sports drama television series created by Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht for HBO, based on the book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s by Jeff Pearlman. The first season, comprising 10 episodes, chronicles the 1980s Showtime era of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team (beginning in late 1979), featuring notable NBA stars Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It features an ensemble cast led by John C. Reilly, Jason Clarke, Jason Segel, Gaby Hoffmann, Rob Morgan, and Adrien Brody. The series premiered on March 6, 2022, with the pilot episode directed by Adam McKay. In April 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on August 6, 2023. On September 17, 2023, it was announced that the series was canceled after 2 seasons.

Although HBO has reinforced that the series is a dramatization, the series has been strongly criticized by several former NBA players and basketball historians over what they allege are significant factual inaccuracies within the storylines.

Premise
The series is a dramatization of the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers basketball teams. The first season focuses on the 1979–1980 NBA season, Jerry Buss' first as owner and Magic Johnson's rookie year. The second season takes place between 1980 and 1984.

Main

 * John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss
 * Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson
 * Jason Clarke as Jerry West
 * Adrien Brody as Pat Riley
 * Gaby Hoffmann as Claire Rothman
 * Tracy Letts as Jack McKinney (season 1; guest season 2)
 * Jason Segel as Paul Westhead
 * Julianne Nicholson as Cranny McKinney (season 1)
 * Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss
 * DeVaughn Nixon as Norm Nixon
 * Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
 * Tamera Tomakili as Earletha "Cookie" Kelly
 * Spencer Garrett as Chick Hearn
 * Sarah Ramos as Cheryl Pistono (season 1; recurring season 2)
 * Molly Gordon as Linda Zafrani
 * Brett Cullen as Bill Sharman
 * Stephen Adly Guirgis as Frank Mariani
 * Delante Desouza as Michael Cooper
 * Jimel Atkins as Jamaal Wilkes
 * Austin Aaron as Mark Landsberger
 * Joey Brooks as Lon Rosen
 * Jon Young as Brad Holland (season 1)
 * Rob Morgan as Earvin Johnson Sr.
 * Sally Field as Jessie Buss (season 1)
 * Gillian Jacobs as Chris Riley (season 2; recurring season 1)
 * Thomas Mann as Johnny Buss (season 2; guest season 1)
 * McCabe Slye as Jimmy Buss (season 2; guest season 1)
 * Michael Chiklis as Red Auerbach (season 2; recurring season 1)

Recurring

 * LisaGay Hamilton as Christine Johnson
 * Michael O'Keefe as Jack Kent Cooke
 * Kate Arrington as JoAnn Mueller
 * Sean Patrick Small as Larry Bird
 * David Purdham as Larry O'Brien
 * Kirk Bovill as Donald Sterling
 * Rickey Eugene Brown as Quincy Johnson
 * Darone Okolie as Larry Johnson
 * Andy Hirsch as David Stern
 * Lola Kirke as Karen West
 * Rachel Hilson as Cindy Day
 * Steve Harris as Dr. Thomas Day
 * Carter Redwood as Brian
 * Lucy Walters as Beverly
 * Rory Cochrane as Jerry Tarkanian
 * Danny Burstein as Vic Weiss
 * Ta'Nika Gibson as Debbie Allen
 * Terence Davis as Adrian Dantley
 * Rodney Barnes as Maurice
 * Nell Sherman as Maude
 * Newton Mayenge as Jim Chones
 * Wood Harris as Spencer Haywood
 * Edwin Hodge as Ron Boone
 * Ja'Quan Cole as Ron Carter
 * Jynediah Gittens as Kenny Carr
 * Michael AG Scott as Butch Lee
 * Mike Epps as Richard Pryor
 * Max E. Williams as Jack Nicholson
 * Carina Conti as Paula Abdul
 * Mariama Diallo as Iman
 * Orlando Jones as Elgin Baylor
 * James Lesure as Julius Erving
 * Ari Graynor as Honey Kaplan (season 2)

Development
On April 20, 2014, screenwriter Jim Hecht flew across the country to the home of sportswriter Jeff Pearlman. He pitched an adaptation of Pearlman's best-seller Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty that would be similar to the TV show Friday Night Lights. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hecht brought Pearlman a bottle of nonalcoholic wine, a block of chocolate, and a tomato as an offering to convince Pearlman to sell him the rights to the book. "I had no money, so if he'd been like, '$30,000,' I would've been screwed," Hecht recalled. Pearlman, who had optioned several of his books where "nothing ever happened", agreed to let Hecht shop his book around town for a year. In 2015, producer Kevin Messick convinced Adam McKay to direct the pilot and produce.

In April 2019, HBO ordered a pilot of the series, which was written by Max Borenstein with a story by Borenstein and Hecht. The series was initially referred to by the working title Showtime, after Pearlman's book and the Lakers era that inspired it. By that summer, the series was described as being untitled, with HBO executive Casey Bloys later acknowledging that the title would have caused marketplace confusion given that one of HBO's direct premium TV and streaming competitors is also named Showtime. In December, HBO officially greenlit a series order. On December 8, 2021, HBO announced that the series would be titled Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty; according to Bloys, "Winning Time" is a phrase that was already associated with Magic Johnson.

On April 7, 2022, HBO renewed the series for a second season. In July 2022, it was announced that Salli Richardson-Whitfield would, in addition to directing, join the second season as executive producer.

Casting
Francine Maisler is the show's casting director. In August 2019, Jason Clarke and Michael Shannon were cast to portray Jerry West and Jerry Buss respectively. However, the next month Shannon would exit due to creative differences, and Buss would be recast with John C. Reilly. Shannon reportedly did not like the fourth wall breaking format of the show and found it difficult to work with. Frequent McKay collaborator Will Ferrell had actively pursued the role of Buss since McKay had first started developing the series; however, McKay did not feel he was right for the role and instead cast Reilly without telling Ferrell. Upon learning of the decision via a phone call from Reilly, Ferrell was so infuriated that he ended his friendship and professional relationship with McKay. Quincy Isaiah and Solomon Hughes were additionally cast to play Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar after an extensive casting search. DeVaughn Nixon was added to the cast to portray his father, Norm Nixon.

By March 2021, additional castings including Adrien Brody, Sally Field, Michael Chiklis, Bo Burnham, Jason Segel, Sarah Ramos, Brett Cullen, and Lola Kirke were announced. In May 2021, Rory Cochrane, Danny Burstein, Austin Aaron, Ta'Nika Gibson, Edwin Hodge, Terence Davis, and Ja'Quan Cole joined the cast. In June 2021, Mike Epps, Max E. Williams, Carina Conti and Mariama Diallo joined the cast. In August 2021, Burnham exited the project due to scheduling conflicts while Sean Patrick Small, Rachel Hilson, Olli Haaskivi, Newton Mayenge, and Jon Young joined the cast, with Small replacing Burnham. Thomas Mann was confirmed, in June 2022, to have been promoted to a series regular for season two. In June 2023, it was announced that McCabe Slye was promoted as a series regular for the second season.

Filming
Principal photography for the first season began in Los Angeles on April 12, 2021, and concluded on October 31. It was confirmed that production on the second season started on August 24, 2022.

Release
Alongside the title announcement in December 2021, HBO announced the series would debut in March 2022, with the premiere date subsequently set for Sunday, March 6 and aired an episode weekly, concluding the season on May 8, 2022.

Home media
The first season was released on October 4, 2022, on Blu-ray and DVD.

Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an 85% approval rating based on 61 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Gleefully excessive in both form and function, Winning Time pairs a larger-than-life roster of characters with whiplash style to deliver an absolute slam dunk." On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 68 out of 100, based on 29 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds an 83% approval rating based on 18 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Trying to defend the title is hard, but Winning Time's sophomore season keeps pace as some of the best courtside seats to sports history that television can provide." On Metacritic, the second season has a score of 68 out of 100, based on 13 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Reactions from Lakers
The series received criticism from Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for historical inaccuracies. Johnson said he would not watch the series because it never depicted the Showtime era accurately, while Abdul-Jabbar referred to the series as deliberately dishonest. On April 19, 2022, Jerry West demanded a retraction from HBO within two weeks for the "cruel" and "deliberately false" depiction of him as a temperamental, foul-mouthed executive prone to angry outbursts and mood swings. A week later, HBO responded to West with the following statement: "HBO has a long history of producing compelling content drawn from actual facts and events that are fictionalized in part for dramatic purposes. Winning Time is not a documentary and has not been presented as such. However, the series and its depictions are based on extensive factual research and reliable sourcing, and HBO stands resolutely behind our talented creators and cast who have brought a dramatization of this epic chapter in basketball history to the screen." West, who died June 12, 2024, pursued legal action against HBO for defamation, even if he has to "take this all the way to the Supreme Court." Spencer Haywood, on the other hand, called his portrayal on the series a blessing.