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Did anyone else know this was happening? Not to be outdone by LeBron James' Space Jam 2 or ESPN's recent documentary The Last Dance, HBO apparently has its own iconic basketball project in the works. This one involving the Showtime Lakers, Boston Celtics and comedian Bo Burnham.
HBO just announced that comedian Bo Burnham will be headlining the cast of an upcoming drama series documenting the legendary rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers that dominated the 1980's. Variety's Joe Otterson notes that the series was ordered as early as late 2019, but beyond Bo Burnham's casting, HBO refused to comment on the show's production any further.
As for Burnham's role, the viral sensation and seminal comedian and musician is set to play Larry Bird, who many consider to be the greatest Celtic of all time. Bird and Lakers counterpart Magic Johnson were famously linked at the hip as far back as their respective college careers, and their rivalry was the defining dynamic of the NBA in the 1980's, and is one that is largely considered to have resurrected the sport of basketball.
Bo Burnham Burnham leads a star-studded cast of pretend Lakers and Celtics legends. The full listing of heavy hitters is as follows:
Bo Burnham – Larry Bird
Adrien Brody – Pat Riley
Sally Field – Jessie Buss
Michael Chiklis – Red Auerbach
John C. Reilly – Jerry Buss
Jason Clarke – Jerry West
Jason Segel – Paul Westhead
Devaughn Nixon – Norm Nixon
Hadley Robinson – Jeanie Buss
The rest of the cast is composed primarily of new names, as the show will apparently introduce several actors in major roles. Bo Burnham will actually be the most well-known actor to portray an actual player during the time period covered by this series, while HBO will introduce Quincy Isaiah and Solomon Hughes as the Showtime Lakers' iconic duo of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The show will also feature Gaby Hoffmann as Claire Rothman, Molly Gordon as Linda Zafrani, Rob Morgan as Earvin Johnson Sr., Spencer Garrett as Chick Hearn, Kirk Bovill as Donald Sterling, Delante Desouza as Michael Cooper, Stephen Adly Guirgis as Frank Mariani, Tamera Tomakili as Earletha ‘Cookie’ Kelly, and Joey Brooks as Lon Rosen.
Based off of Jeff Pearlman’s non-fiction book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s”, the show will cover the lives of major figure of this legendary rivalry on and off the court. Max Borenstein serves as writer and executive producer. Comic writing legend and frequent Will Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay directed the pilot and will also highlight the production team going forward.
The Celtics, Lakers centric show is pegged to air on HBO Max sometime in 2022. Expect more word and updates on its progress in the months to come.
