Magic Johnson won't be 'looking forward' to HBO's Lakers series
Dec 28, 2021
Washington [US], December 28 : American former professional basketball player Magic Johnson has said he's "not looking forward" to upcoming HBO series about the Los Angeles Lakers' 1980s glory years.
The legendary point guard chatted with a TMZ reporter during an interview published on Monday, and Magic was asked whether he is looking forward to 'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty'.
The upcoming scripted series will debut in March from showrunner Max Borenstein and director and executive producer Adam McKay, focusing on the NBA squad's successful 'Showtime' era.
Magic shared that he wasn't excited about it, and he went on to explain that both he and Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss are working on their own shows. He said, "We got different shows coming out. I got one. Then, Jeanie Buss got one on Showtime coming out. Those are the ones [I'm] looking forward to, OK?"
On being asked if the HBO series does not have Magic's blessing, the star replied, "Well, like I said, I'm not looking forward to it. I'm gonna leave it at that." Then, Magic was asked if he's planning to watch, and he gave an emphatic no.
As Magic teased, Buss and Antoine Fuqua are executive producing an untitled Hulu docuseries about the team. She is also behind a Lakers-inspired comedy series that earned a straight-to-series order from Netflix.
While the Lakers organization is not participating in 'Winning Time', based on Jeff Pearlman's book 'Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s', the show does include a slew of high-profile names.
Newcomer Quincy Isaiah is portraying Magic, and other cast members include John C. Reilly as then-owner Jerry Buss, Jason Clarke as general manager Jerry West and Adrien Brody as coach Pat Riley. Hadley Robinson plays Jeanie.
'Winning Time' was initially set up at Gary Sanchez Productions, the company McKay founded with Will Ferrell. The pair dissolved the shingle in 2019, and Ferrell was reportedly upset to learn third hand that Reilly, and not Ferrell, was cast as Jerry Buss after Michael Shannon dropped out.
McKay had told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published earlier this month, "I wish I had talked to him about it out of respect, but we were both focused on our new companies, and life just took over."
