Winning Time co-creator Jim Hecht has spoken about and given his reaction to HBO‘s cancellation of the sports drama series.
What did Jim Hecht say about Winning Time’s cancellation?
In a guest column on The Hollywood Reporter, Hecht wrote about the process of creating the entire series as well as he and his wife’s reactions to the news of the show being canceled. He notes that he worked with great people at HBO and it was the sort of show he would love to watch.
“Look, I know there are a lot of people who want me to say, ‘F— HBO.’ And there is some of that in my house,” Hecht said in a snippet from the piece. “But I love the people we worked with … HBO paid big money and gave us a ton of freedom to make our dream show. It just happens to not be the right show for their platform at this time.”
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty was written and co-created by Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht, who were also executive producing. It starred John C. Reilly, Quincy Isaiah, Jason Clarke, Adrien Brody, Gaby Hoffman, Tracy Letts, Jason Segel, Julianne Nicholson, Hadley Robinson, Dr. Solomon Hughes, Tamera Tomakili, Brett Cullen, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Joey Brooks, Sarah Ramos, Spencer Garrett, Molly Gordon, DeVaughn Nixon, Delante Desouza, Jimel Atkins, Austin Aaron, and more.
“A fast-break series chronicling 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,” reads the logline. “Season two hones in on the period just after the Finals in 1980 through 1984, culminating in the first professional rematch of the era’s greatest stars: Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.”
The story was based on Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. It was executive produced by Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Jason Shuman, Scott Stephens, and Rodney Barnes.
