HBO has announced Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty has been renewed for Season 2. News of its renewal comes as the series is in the midst of airing its first season, which is set to wrap up with its 10th and final episode on May 8th.
Based on the 2014 nonfiction book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, the Adam McKay-directed sports drama stars John C. Reilly as Lakers owner Jerry Buss, Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson, Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jason Clarke as general manager Jerry West, Adrien Brody as sportscaster-turned-assistant coach Pat Riley, Jason Segel as head coach Paul Westhead, and Sally Field as Jessie Buss.
Other names in the sprawling cast include Gaby Hoffmann, Tracy Letts, Julianne Nicholson, Hadley Robinson, DeVaughn Nixon, Sarah Ramos, Brett Cullen, Michael Chiklis, Gillian Jacobs, Lola Kirke, Danny Burstein, Mike Epps, and more.
In a recent interview with Consequence, co-creator Jim Hecht explained why he thinks the series could theoretically last “forever.” Explaining that the story of the Lakers is still being written, Hecht said, “It could go through LeBron James and his son playing side by side. I mean, you could definitely go through the helicopter crash in Calabasas. It could be told as slow as we want, and as quick as we want, and long as we want.”
Meanwhile, Hughes recently stopped by Kyle Meredith With… to discuss his role as NBA great Adbul-Jabbar in the series. “You’re talking about, at the time, the greatest basketball player in the league,” he said. “And someone who is incredibly accomplished, won so much, and is, you know, kind of seeing off in the not too far distant [future], the end of their career. And this background, this context just really helps tell a fuller picture of what makes them tick.”