The Season 2 finale of "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" will give basketball fans the long-awaited showdown between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the 1984 NBA Finals. Apologies for the spoiler — it has been nearly 40 years since Game 7 ended, folks — but the Celtics won the series.
That result puts the HBO series in a strange position. It's possible that a show chronicling Los Angeles' incredible run through the 1980s could end with a Boston victory.
While "Winning Time" has received praise from critics and viewers for its latest season, the series could be on the chopping block. Why are there concerns about "Winning Time" being canceled?
MORE: The bizarre Pat Riley-Jerry West press conference, explained
Will there be Season 3 of 'Winning Time'?
UPDATE: HBO announced that it will not move forward with another season of "Winning Time." The show's Season 2 finale will also serve as the series finale.
In an interview with Vulture's Josef Adalian, "Winning Time" executive producer Kevin Messick revealed that the network had already given the crew a heads-up about the possibility of the show ending this year.
"There were never any guarantees in today's marketplace of a subsequent season, so the planning for the 'What if' scenario — if this was not just a season finale but the series finale — was from the conversation we had back in January while we were still in production," Messick said.
"We got a call from HBO, whom we've been partnered with for years. They said, 'Think about it so that you have the option while you're still in production to figure out how it might end if, sadly, that was the end of it.' So we did get a chance to prepare, which we appreciated. But to be clear, we never planned creatively to end at the [1984 NBA Finals]."
ORIGINAL: Even the man who literally wrote the book on the Lakers' dynasty doesn't know if "Winning Time" will be renewed for a third season.
Jeff Pearlman's book "Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s" served as the inspiration for "Winning Time." (He also made a cameo appearance in Season 2.) Pearlman has been the show's biggest cheerleader on X, formerly known as Twitter — and for good reason.
As Pearlman noted in early August, with actors and writers in the midst of strikes, they are unable to promote their work. The inability of cast members to spread awareness during public appearances and on social media platforms likely impacted the viewership numbers for the Season 2 premiere and subsequent episodes.
"I'm telling you — the future of 'Winning Time' hangs in the balance," Pearlman tweeted on Aug. 16. "We need viewers. The strikes are crippling. Please help spread the word. Season 2 is amazing. But HBO is big on [numbers]."
On Sept. 6, Pearlman once again emphasized the importance of ratings.
"I'll be blunt: 'Winning Time' is fighting hard to survive," Pearlman tweeted. "Viewership keeps going up, up, up. But if you want HBO to renew it and keep it going (and not have it f—ing end with Boston winning), we need views.
"Seriously. It's the best show on TV. But [numbers] matter."
'Winning Time' Season 2 cast
Several characters from Season 1 were heavily featured in Season 2, including former Lakers owner Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) and legendary point guard Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah).
- John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss
- Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson
- Jason Clarke as Jerry West
- Adrien Brody as Pat Riley
- Michael Chiklis as Red Auerbach
- Sean Patrick Small as Larry Bird
- Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss
- Jason Segel as Paul Westhead
- Gaby Hoffmann as Claire Rothman
- Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- DeVaughn Nixon as Norm Nixon
- Tamera Tomakili as "Cookie" Kelly
Full list of 'Winning Time' episodes
All episodes of "Winning Time" are available to watch on Max.
Season 1
- Episode 1: "The Swan"
- Episode 2: "Is That All There Is?"
- Episode 3: "The Good Life"
- Episode 4: "Who the F— is Jack McKinney?"
- Episode 5: "Pieces of a Man"
- Episode 6: "Memento Mori"
- Episode 7: "Invisible Man"
- Episode 8: "California Dreaming"
- Episode 9: "Acceptable Loss"
- Episode 10: "Promised Land"
Season 2
- Episode 1: "One Ring Don't Make a Dynasty"
- Episode 2: "The Magic Is Back"
- Episode 3: "The Second Coming"
- Episode 4: "The New World"
- Episode 5: "The Hamburger Hamlet"
- Episode 6: "Beat L.A."
- Episode 7: "What Is and What Should Never Be"
