A still image from 'Winning Time.'
HBO.
Semi-Autobiographical Lakers Series ‘Winning Time’ Canceled On HBO
HBO show Winning Time, based on Jeff Pearlman book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, has been canceled after two seasons.
After two seasons, the semi-autobiographical Los Angeles Lakers series Winning Time has been canceled on HBO. The news came on Sunday night (September 17), when the show aired the second season’s seventh episode, “What Is and What Should Never Be,” which came to be the show’s finale.
The Final Quarter | Winning Time Season 2 | HBOwww.youtube.com
The cancellation was confirmed by show co-creators Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht on X/Twitter. Also following Borenstein and Hecht’s statement was actress, producer and filmmaker, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, who directed five episodes of the series, including the finale.
Not the ending that we had in mind.\nBut nothing but gratitude and love. \n\n#winningtime— Max Borenstein (@Max Borenstein) 1695003490
9.5 years. We made the show of my dreams. That wasn\u2019t the ending we hoped for but very grateful to everyone who watched and @jeffpearlman for trusting me with his genius book.— jim hecht (@jim hecht) 1695005831
The show will always hold a special place in my heart. @winningtimehbo— Salli Richardson (@Salli Richardson) 1695005688
Sports writer Jeff Pearlman, who wrote the 2014 book that the show’s based upon, Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, pleaded with fans to consistently watch the show throughout its second season. Compared to its season one debut to 901,000 viewers, the second season’s 629,000 viewership paled in comparison.
And, to be blunt, I'm worried there won't be a season three. And it's not about me. I'm fine. It's about a cast of amazing young actors who live this. So, seriously, tell your friends to support "Winning Time" and show @hbo you want it to continue. Peace. #winningtime— Jeff Pearlman (@Jeff Pearlman) 1692225732
I'm saying it: "Winning Time" is, right now, the best show on TV. And it deserves a third season, because it's fucking brilliant and there's much left to tell. Amen. #WinningTimeHBO— Jeff Pearlman (@Jeff Pearlman) 1693885669
I'll be blunt: "Winning Time" is fighting hard to survive. Viewership keep going up, up, up. But if you want HBO to renew it and keep it going (and not have it fucking end with Boston winning), we need views. Seriously. It's the best show on TV. But #s matter. #winningtime— Jeff Pearlman (@Jeff Pearlman) 1694054819
Dear @HBO @StreamOnMax: The great @JeanieBuss \u2014 owner of the Lakers \u2014 digs "Winning Time" and wants it to keep rolling. Let's keep it rolling! #WinningTime— Jeff Pearlman (@Jeff Pearlman) 1694195966
While the first season focused on the formation of the Lakers’ ‘Showtime’ lineup, season two centered on the team’s run from the 1980 NBA Finals through 1984, including former coach Pat Riley succeeding Paul Westhead.
On social media, fans showed their disappointment with the news, as the series had yet to reach Magic Johnson’s HIV-positive diagnosis, which Winning Time opened up with.
No matter how much you liked Winning Time, ending the show with Boston winning the title is an unholy affront to civilization.— Otto Von Biz Markie (@Otto Von Biz Markie) 1695008143
How Laker fans walking into HBO HQ after they canceled Winning Time in a Celtics Championship:— The Pettiest Laker Fan \ud83e\udd2b (@The Pettiest Laker Fan \ud83e\udd2b) 1695017881
I forgot episode 1 of \u2018Winning Time\u2019 really started off w/ Magic at the doctors office dawg, mad dark.— Niko (@Niko) 1695009545
Keeping bullshit like Euphoria but cancels Winning Time man this shit crazy— heem (@heem) 1695006116
Oh, you motherfuckers. I can't BELIEVE you canceled Winning Time. And right after The Wonder Years. It's not just the war on quality Black programming, it's the war on quality period.— Cheo Hodari Coker (@Cheo Hodari Coker) 1695009843
HBO has canceled #WinningTime after two seasons. Tonight\u2019s season finale was the very last episode of this series. We needed one more season. Quincy Isaiah was great as Magic Johnson and Sean Patrick Small was phenomenal as Larry Bird. John C Reilly was perfect as Jerry Buss.— Ron Carthen (@Ron Carthen) 1695005444
Clearly, the show runners knew they were gonna get axed and added this epitaph to the season 2 finale. I\u2019m so fucking upset. #WinningTime— Lauren (@Lauren) 1695019456
WINNING TIME was one of the best series out there with a raw, tactile visual style, stellar acting, and gripping storytelling. \n\nThis show was art.\nNot content.\nNot a line item on a spreadsheet. \n\nA living, breathing piece of history that hit on every level. It deserved better.— Gennefer Gross (@Gennefer Gross) 1695004110
HBO cancelling #WinningTime is absolute horse shit, should\u2019ve had at least one more season covering the Showtime Lakers, then gone the anthology approach covering Jordan\u2019s Bulls then Kobe and Shan\u2019s Lakers all for a couple seasons. Missed opportunity— Chalupa Batman (@Chalupa Batman) 1695003170
However, teammates from the Lakers’ ‘Showtime’ era, like Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were displeased with the show’s inaugural season, the latter writing a Substack post titled ‘"Winning Time" Isn’t Just Deliberately Dishonest, It’s Drearily Dull’ last April.
“There is only one immutable sin in writing: Don’t Be Boring! Winning Time commits that sin over and over,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote, criticizing the screenwriters. “The characters are crude stick-figure representations that resemble real people, the way Lego Han Solo resembles Harrison Ford. Each character is reduced to a single bold trait, as if the writers were afraid anything more complex would tax the viewers’ comprehension.”
