Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

TV Series
2022–2023
TV-MA
59m

IMDb RATING

8.3/10

30K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer2:36

Docudrama Biography Drama Sport

The professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports' most revered and dominant dynasties - a team that defined an era, both on and off the court.The professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports' most revered and dominant dynasties - a team that defined an era, both on and off the court.The professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports' most revered and dominant dynasties - a team that defined an era, both on and off the court.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.3/10

30K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,658

116

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 6 Primetime Emmys
- 6 wins & 26 nominations total

Episodes17

Browse episodes

TopTop-rated2 seasons2 years

Trivia
Executive producer Adam McKay and Will Ferrell had been producing partners for 25 years, until 2019 when their partnership and friendship ended abruptly, because Ferrell had his heart set on playing Jerry Buss in the series, then in development. McKay agreed, casting Ferrell in the role, before changing his mind and casting John C. Reilly (who worked with Ferrell and McKay on Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Step Brothers (2008) and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)) instead without telling Ferrell. Ferrell was furious and ended their business relationship; McKay thought their falling out would last several months before realizing that Ferrell was far more hurt than McKay thought he would be and told Vanity Fair in November 2021 that Ferrell "will never talk to me again."

Goofs
Kareem Abdul-Jabar is seen drinking beer with his teammates after the Lakers win the Western Conference Final in 1980. Jabar is a Muslim and Muslims are forbidden to drink alcohol.

Connections
Featured in Entertainment Tonight: Episode #41.110 (2022)

User reviews183

Review

Featured review

8/10

Way better than I thought I would be

I wasn't even going to watch it. From the trailers, I thought it would be campy and irritating, but it's not.

The comedy bits are actually well developed through excellent dialog, not just pratfalls and such. There is serious subject matter touched on as well. It is really well cast. The actors cast may be caricatures of the basketball players they represent, but they are enjoyable caricatures, highlighting their most endearing or confounding traits.

I see many people do not like the portrayals of their all-time favorite basketball stars because they are not exact. I had no aspersions this was going to be a fact-based drama, I thought it was going to be more of an "Airplane" shtick-filled, goof fest.

I don't know how accurate it all is, because clearly some of the scenes are entirely fabricated (Clearly!). Some of the setups are for the comedic or dramatic effect and that's totally fine.

Overall, well directed, great cast, great writing. I recommend this to anyone, not just basketball lovers.