Farewell Lake Show: HBO Cancels ‘Winning Time’
Sports Editor Will Lyons breaks down the cancellation of HBO’s hit show ‘Winning Time’ and what made the show so special.
The news of HBO’s hit show ‘Winning Time’ being cancelled is circulating on social media. Both sports fans and fans of good television feel robbed as the show was able to successfully bridge the gap between having good acting and good basketball scenes. The casting, writing, wardrobe and musical selections all had viewers feeling like they stepped out of a time machine on Sunday evenings.
It truly felt like a treat to watch newcomer Quincy Isaiah play Earvin “Magic” Johnson. He showcased the many layers of the First Ballot Hall of Famer and his super complicated relationship with Cookie, his morals and the impact of a strong family unit (Rob Morgan and Lisa Gay Hamilton as Earvin Sr. and Christine Johnson). Dr. Jerry Buss was perfectly portrayed by John C. Reilly as the energy that Dr. Buss poured into the Laker franchise seemed like it was setup to fail, but he literally willed and schemed his way to success.
Winning Time is one of the most authentic feeling portrayals of sports since the cult classic, Any Given Sunday. Seeing the battle of alphas between franchise player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and rising star Magic was an awesome experience, that made the Lakers eventually winning it all, that much more rewarding. There was no weak link in the casting of Winning Time from the looks to the acting.
There are many notable performances like Wood Harris as Spencer Haywood, DeVaughn Nixon playing his father Norm Nixon, and Adrien Brody as Pat Riley. And we cannot forget Jason Clarke’s portrayal of Hall of Famer Jerry West, his fiery and downright ornery demeanor was such a topic of discussion that Jerry West felt compelled to object to how he was depicted in the show. Michael Chiklis (Red Auerbach) and Sean Patrick Small (Larry Bird) really helped bring the Celtic vs Laker rivalry to life from the Celtic side.
The acting in Winning Time was really brought together by the women in the storyline starting with Tamera Tomakili (Cookie Johnson), Gaby Hoffmann (Claire Rothman) and Hadley Robinson (Jeanie Buss). Seeing the brilliant ideas and contributions of the women surrounding the Laker franchise added a nice element as Dr. Buss and Magic tried to avoid losing their sanity while bringing LA to greatness.
Impact of the 2023 Writers Guild of America Strike
Sadly Winning Time seems to be the latest casualty of the 2023 Writers Guild of America Strike. More and more content has been getting cancelled to work around the strike looming over everyone’s head. Instead of fairly compensating the brilliant minds that play a critical role in our entertainment — more shows have been getting the axe and an uptick in reality television is hitting the air. At this rate, we won’t have anything beyond the shows that already have premiere dates to look forward to unless you are a fan of the Love and Hip Hop franchise. Truly sad that greed continues to keep people from being paid fairly, and it continues to affect the writers, actors and now the fans.
Thank you to the talented cast of Winning Time for two seasons of excellence and The Lyons Den hopes to see another platform pick up the show as the Showtime Lakers story is far from over. The outpouring of frustration from fans on social media is proof that there is clearly a market for the show.
