HBO has officially announced that “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” has been canceled after two seasons. The news came following the network’s Sunday night airing of the second-season finale. Max Borenstein, a series co-creator, commented on the news on X (formerly Twitter).
Director Salli Richardson took to Instagram to comment on the disappointing news.
“When you give it everything you’ve got, you can have no regrets. I hope you enjoy the last episode of @winningtimehbo I am sure I will do many more hours of TV and hopefully many features in my future, but I can say that at this moment in time I am most proud of the work we did on this masterful show.”
Salli Richardson via her Instagram
HBO added a concluding crawl that provided further information regarding important players and front-office staff, including Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Jerry West, after confirming that the show’s second-season finale, which debuted on September 17, would serve as the series conclusion.
The show’s second season, which contains seven episodes and covers several years while focusing on the rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, has seen a decline in ratings.
The historical accuracy of the series was called out by Lakers legends West and Abdul-Jabbar. The latter criticized the show as being dishonest. Moreover, he asserted that the characters were depicted as “crude stick-figure representations” rather than real individuals.
With John C. Reilly as Lakers owner Jerry Buss, Quincy Isaiah playing Johnson, Adrien Brody playing former coach Pat Riley, and Solomon Hughes playing Abdul-Jabbar, “Winning Time” included a sizable ensemble cast. One Emmy nomination was given to the first season for cinematography.
Fans of the series will be disappointed to not watch the Lakers series three-peat.
