The latest HBO show to really take off has been Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, a scripted series about the “Showtime Era” that defined the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s. Capitalising on the NBA hype fueled by the success of Netflix’s Michael Jordan docuseries The Last Dance, the dynastic era has been turned into a thoroughly entertaining watch based on Jeff Pearlman’s non-fiction book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and starring John C. Reilly alongside Adrien Brody, Quincy Isaiah, Jason Clarke, Molly Gordon, DeVaughn Nixon, Tamera Tomakili and others. So entertaining, in fact, that HBO has officially announced that Winning Time Season 2 will be well on its way once the Adam McKay and Max Borenstein series wraps its first season in May.
According to a report by AV Club, the show has been on such a roll lately that there has been a 37% increase in viewership between the first and the fifth episodes, making good on the promising trailer that dropped at the end of the last year.
The show has been noted for examining one of the most fascinating times in the NBA when the sport was just on the cusp of a major transformation thanks to a bevy of new stars and some illustrious new corporate partnerships. As such, the show is as much about a sweeping change in the way the sporting world views Los Angeles as much as it is about a transformative period for one of the biggest sports in the world.
Co-producer and pilot director Adam McKay (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The Other Guys, The Big Short) turns in some of his finest work to date, so seeing HBO announce a second season for Winning Time really isn’t much of a surprise. What is, though, is just how fast the announcement came, with the first season of Winning Time still well and truly heating up with strong performances by MVPs Reilly (as Jerry Buss), Brody (as Pat Riley), Quincy Isaiah (as Magic Johnson), and Tracey Letts (as Jack McKinney).
The personal lives of the Los Angeles Lakers, both on and off the court are evidently far richer and more complex than most would have expected, so the writing team, led by Borenstein (Godzilla, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godkillza VS. Kong) and Jim Hecht, should have plenty to work with for Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty season 2.
HBO hasn’t yet confirmed a release date for the second season of the Los Angeles Lakers drama series, but we’ll keep you posted when they do.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty streams in Australia on Binge.
