HBO Orders ‘Showtime’ Series About 1980s NBA Lakers Era
Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabar are going to be immortalized on television via HBO. The premium cable network has greenlit the pilot of the drama series “Showtime,” which will be about the glorious Los Angeles Lakers dynasty in the NBA in the 1980s.
The show will be based on the book by Jeff Pearlman, titled “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s,” which was published in 2014. It details the most successful but quite troubled franchise in sports.
HBO stated in its press release that “Showtime” will be “a fast-break series chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties — a team that defined its era, both on and off the court.”
Adam McKay has been tapped to direct the pilot episode while Max Borenstein will write the script alongside Jim Hecht.
Meanwhile, “Showtime” has booked its first cast members in Gaby Hoffman and Hadley Robinson. Hoffman will play Claire Rothman, the manager of the sports arena Forum. Robinson, on the other hand, will play Jeanie Buss, the daughter of Jerry Buss, the owner of the L.A. Lakers. Both women thrive in an industry dominated by men.
The elder Buss on the other hand will be played by John C. Riley. As for the rest of the cast, Variety has confirmed these actors as part of “Showtime”: Quincy Isaiah as Earvin Magic Johnson, Solomon Hughes As Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Jason Clarke as Jerry West, DeVaughn Nixon as Norm Nixon, Joey Brooks as Lon ROsen, Spencer Garrett as Chick Hearn, Kill Bovill as Donald Sterling, Molly Gordon as Linda Zafrani and Delante Desouza as Michael Cooper. The series has yet to cast Lakers coach Pat Riley.
“Showtime” will be in production soon. HBO has not yet announced when it will be out on the cable network.
