Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

Among Rotten Tomatoes’ Most Anticipated Series of 2022, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty dramatizes the professional and personal lives of the players and coaches of one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties – a team that defined an American era, both on and off the basketball court.

Already renewed for a second season, the HBO sports drama has an 84% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics consensus says, “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.”

The star-studded cast is led by Oscar nominee John C Reilly (Chicago, Boogie Nights, Magnolia), and Screen Actors Guild nominee Jason Clarke (Mudbound, Zero Dark Thirty), along with newcomers Quincy Isaiah and Solomon Hughes as Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar respectively. DeVaughn Nixon (Snowfall, Runaways) plays his real-life father, NBA star Stormin’ Norman Nixon.

The cast also includes the likes of Oscar winners Sally Field (Maniac, Forrest Gump, Lincoln) and Adrien Brody (The French Dispatch, Peaky Blinders, The Pianist), Critics Choice winner Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, How I Met Your Mother), Emmy winner Julianne Nicholson (Mare of Easttown, I, Tonya), Emmy nominee Gaby Hoffman (Transparent, Girls), and Critics Choice nominee Tracy Letts (Le Mans ’66, The Post, Lady Bird).

The pilot is directed by Oscar winner Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up, Vice, The Big Short) and episode 2 by Oscar-nominated actor Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street, Moneyball). Black Reel winners Tanya Hamilton (The Chi, Godfather of Harlem, The Deuce) and Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Dear White People, The Gilded Age, Black-ish) also direct episodes.