HBO
In a surprise move, HBO announced on Sunday, virtually a the same time that the season finale hit the airwaves, that Winning Time would be canceled after just two seasons on the air.
The move was obviously an abrupt one, as reports indicate that the ending to season two that was aired on Sunday night was not the same as the one shared with critics and journalists just a few weeks prior.
Not only were both sports and TV fans obviously upset with the decision to axe the series, but many also complained about the fact that a series about the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers ended with their rival Boston Celtics winning the NBA title.
Me at HBO headquarters after they cancelled Winning Time:#WinningTime pic.twitter.com/EYMEBuGEAH
— Rick E Langston (@radvstheworld) September 18, 2023
Winning Time ending on a Celtics win and with a Bad Boy Pistons tease leading to nowhere pic.twitter.com/rHzETRIVKp
— ethan (@eth8n_02) September 18, 2023
Plz buy Winning Time lolz @PrimeVideo @AppleTV
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) September 18, 2023
Winning Time boasted a star-studded cast that featured the likes of Adrien Brody, Jason Clarke, John C. Reilly, Jason Segel, Gillian Jacobs, Michael Chiklis, Sally Field, and more.
Winning Time ending with Boston winning it all is wild
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 18, 2023
I can't remember the last time a show THIS good got canceled. Netflix viewers are used to their B Minus-Ass shows suddenly vanishing but #WinningTime had an insane cast, kinetic direction, and the most stylish editing in the game.
I don't even like sports and I LOVED this show.
— Brendan Weathers (@BrendanWeathers) September 18, 2023
How Laker fans walking into HBO HQ after they canceled Winning Time in a Celtics Championship: pic.twitter.com/nX5GfmjXKc
— The Pettiest Laker Fan 🤫 (@ThePettiestLA) September 18, 2023
In an effort to bring some closure to the show, the Winning Time creative team added a montage to the end of the episode that detailed where all the key players in the series went after the 1984 NBA Finals.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which was created by Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht, was based on the Jeff Pearlman novel Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.
The series was executive produced by The Big Short and Anchorman director Adam McKay, who also directed the pilot episode.
While HBO has previously and repeatedly stressed that the series is a dramatization of events, the show was criticized by some within the basketball community for some of its historical inaccuracies.
Winning Time is the second high-profile cancellation of the year at HBO, as the network also axed the Sam Levinson-created series The Idol, which wound up being the worst-reviewed series in the history of the network.