“Winning Time”
Abrupt end to basketball series
Defeat for “Winning Time” with John C. Reilly (l.) and Quincy Isaiah.
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The showrunners are disappointed: After just two seasons, HBO is pulling the plug on the basketball series “Winning Time.”
Defeat for the fans of “Winning Time”: The series about the successes of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s ends after two seasons. This was confirmed by the US broadcaster HBO to the industry magazine “Variety”. In Germany, “Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” started on Sky in spring 2022. The basketball series can currently be seen on Prime Video and Sky’s streaming service Wow, among others.
The second season of “Winning Time” ended in the USA on Sunday. With a Los Angeles Lakers defeat and an abrupt finale. It then shows what happens next for the characters after the series. This appendage was not visible in the first version that Variety viewed. This suggests that the makers were expecting a sequel and that the cancellation came late.
Series creator disappointed with Aus
The series creators were correspondingly disappointed. “Not the ending we imagined” wrote showrunner Max Borenstein (42) on X. “But nothing but gratitude and love,” he added.
“If you give everything you have, you can’t regret it,” wrote director Salli Richardson (55) on Instagram to a picture of her lying on the floor in the Lakers locker room. “I’m sure there will be many more hours of television and hopefully many films in my future, but I can say that at this moment I’m most proud of the work we’ve done on this masterful show,” he said the filmmaker continued.
“Winning Time” tells the story of the Los Angeles Lakers, who developed from an average club into the most spectacular team in the NBA in the 1980s. The Lakers around Earvin “Magic” Johnson (64) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (75) shaped an era and fought thrilling duels with the Boston Celtics around Larry Bird (66).
The showrunners were able to attract a lucrative cast for their series. John C. Reilly (58) played the legendary club owner Jerry Buss (1933-2013). The Oscar winners Adrian Brody (50) and Sally Field (75) were on board, as were Jason Clarke (52) and Jason Segel (42).