Courtesy: HBO, WINNING TIME: ENTRY OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY
As the NBA offseason draws to a close, Los Angeles Lakers fans are dying for some basketball to watch. Meanwhile, fans enjoyed HBO’s “Winning Time,” a show about the Showtime Lakers era that is currently in its second season.
Unfortunately, the second season will be the last, as HBO confirmed after Sunday’s Season 2 finale that it will not be renewed for a third season.
This won’t come as much of a surprise, as people working on the show, including Jeff Pearlman, the author of the book the show is based on “Showtime,” have begged fans to watch so that doesn’t happen. Unfortunately, however, the ongoing writers’ strike has forced the networks to cut costs, and Winning Time is a casualty for HBO.
Perhaps the most unfortunate thing is that the story of the Showtime Lakers and the Lakers organization in general is much longer and will not be told.
Season 2 ends with the 1984 NBA Finals, with the Lakers defeating the Boston Celtics in seven games. The Lakers would come back and beat the Celtics in 1985 and 1987 to get revenge, but that would never happen in Winning Time.
Other highlights of Season 2 include the rise of Pat Riley, played by Adrien Brody, to head coach and someone Dr. Jerry Buss played by John C. Reilly. It also showed that Jeanie is still involved, and the Lakers governor herself recently said that she liked Hadley Robinson’s portrayal of her. All of this momentum would continue to grow in the coming seasons.
Jeanie enjoyed Season 2 of Winning Time
Due to her lack of involvement in the project, Jeanie was initially against Winning Time when it first came out.
She did a complete 180 in Season 2, but recently did an interview on the show’s official podcast to discuss how much she enjoyed certain aspects. With Buss herself involved and enjoying herself, canceling the show is much harder.
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