Season 2 - 7 episodes (2023)
Rent Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Max Borenstein, Jim Hecht
Starring: John C. Reilly, Quincy Isaiah, Jason Clarke, Adrien Brody, Gaby Hoffmann, Jason Segel, Gillian Jacobs, Thomas Mann, Sean Patrick
Rated: TV-MA
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Plot
A dramatization of 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. The second seasons focuses on 1980 through 1984.
Verdict
This series takes plenty of liberties, prompting me to often verify what actually happened. The second season doesn't feel as fresh as the first. It's more of the same with a team focused on playoffs and plenty of turmoil between all of the characters. The art style can be annoying as this mixes blurry shots with high definition. I never know if the show wants to look period correct or modern, and I'm not sure the show knows either. I enjoyed the first season, but this doesn't tell a unique enough story or do anything different enough to make it worth it if you've seen the first season. It's the first season without the world building and struggle of owner, team, and key players to establish themselves.
It depends.
Review
I enjoyed the first season, thought the previews seemed to sell this as a series about Magic Johnson. It really was a show about the Lakers team as a whole, including coaches and owner. Owner Jerry Buss is portrayed as a talented salesman. It's how he made it as far as he did. He likes Magic's exuberant style as it's counter to the rest of the league. Buss realizes the future of basketball is entertainment. He doesn't want to sell a sport, he wants to deliver a show.
While I liked the first season and the history it portrays, there was a lot of artifice to the show. It mixes blurry 70s style shots with modern high definition in successive shots. The changing resolution and frame size is always jarring and annoying. It's a little too cute, especially the fourth wall breaking, like a distraction trying to fill run time.
The final episodes makes the game really engrossing through pacing and editing. The depiction of Larry Bird is comedic and fun. What's lost is that this show takes real events and adds a lot of fiction for the drama. When you use actual people, viewers are going to believe the depictions are true, and this show is interested in entertainment, not accuracy.
With season two, the Lakers are coming off a championship, and the only thing to do is win again. This season isn't as scrappy with Buss trying to figure out which niche is team can fill. This isn't a team looking for that one player and a coach to lead them.
The first episode starts with the Lakers in 1984 after winning a playoff game, then cuts back to a how we got there. We don't see the rest of that scene until the end of the season. It doesn't seem relevant. This season, like the first, mixed high definition and low resolution shots while still breaking the fourth wall. Magic (Quincy Isaiah) often sees 'messages' on television directed to him as a way to convey his thoughts. He's also dealing with an injury, a child, and a team that's leaving him behind while he recovers. Buss (John C. Reilly) wants to make Magic the face of the franchise. That attention draws the ire of his teammates.
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| Quincy Isiah plays Magic Johnson |
Much of this season is coach Paul Westhead (Jason Segel) enjoying his newfound popularity while desperately trying to mask his insecurity. The players don't like his approach, citing he's never played basketball. Westhead is also jealous of Magic who has the owner's ear. Many of Westhead's decisions stem from wanting to look like he's in charge. He continually tries to exert his authority. He also feels threatened by assistant coach Pat Riley (Adrien Brody). The show seems like it's setting Westhead up to fail as his power moves are rooted in forcing others to respect him and reminding them he's head coach. Of course the big thing is, if you win you can do whatever you want. If you lose, watch out.
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| Sean Patrick, Michael Chiklis play Larry Bird, Red Auerbach |
This season delves into Larry Bird's (Sean Patrick) background a bit more. He was a fun character and rival for Magic, but his added screen time doesn't add much. This is trying to setup a rivalry. In the first season, his cameo appearances to taunt Magic worked well. This season seems like it focuses on him just to pad the episode count.
Jeanne Buss (Hadley Robinson) wants to be the favorite son. She does everything right, but her dad discounts her because she's a woman. In this season he even brings in his sons who don't care about the team to prepare them to run the team. This is a great story line that doesn't get enough screen time. Instead it's resolved in a text crawl at the end of the season.
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| Jason Segel, Adrien Brody play Paul Westhead, Pat Riley |
The main struggle this season is Westhead's "The System." Magic doesn't like it, and he has a lot of sway with Buss. That sway irritates his teammates who feel second rate. Westhead is on shaky ground, which provides Riley a chance to step up. There's a lot of Celtics-Magic rivalry as they meet in the big game at the end.
It's fun to revisit this this period of sports history, but this show isn't history nor does it want to be. It embellishes and adds as needed to bolster the narrative. You watch the show and wonder if that really happened, often it didn't. I enjoyed the first season more as the owner, team, and players were trying to establish themselves. This season is more of the same, and it feels like it's coasting but not building.
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