The Los Angeles Lakers are the media darling of the NBA. Perhaps nothing demonstrates that more than the two-season HBO hit “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.” The show ran for two seasons, getting canceled in the fall of September 2023.
Originally slated to cover the entire Lakers‘ dynasty under Jerry Buss, Pat Riley, and Magic Johnson, the show ended in the early 1980s, before the Lakers really got off the ground as a perennial champion.
John C. Reilly starred as Buss alongside Adrien Brody and Quincy Isaiah, among other A-list stars. He called Buss the “best character” he has ever played, but was not surprised when the show got canceled.
GettyLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 02: Adrien Brody, Quincy Isaiah and John C. Reilly attend the premiere of HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty” at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on March 02, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)
John C. Reilly Never Watched the Show
Amid HBO’s corporate reshuffling and the massive–$16 million–cost to produce each episode, Reilly was well aware that the show would be cut short, and its abrupt cancellation did not come as a surprise to him.
Basketball fans flocked to the show, even if they were not fans of the Lakers. The show holds favorable reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and it won a Critics’ Choice Award in 2024 for Best Drama Series. It was also nominated for six Emmy Awards.
Despite its massive popularity, Reilly never sat down to watch his performance.
“I’ve never seen the show,” he said on an episode of Steve O’s Wild Ride. “I saw the pilot and the first episode, and I realized, like, wait, if I have to keep doing this, I can’t watch it. I have to keep staying in the same place I was in when we made the pilot. Like, I don’t want to be referencing my own performance or changing what I’m doing because I’ve been looking at what I’m doing anyway.”
Reilly also revealed that his contract was only for two seasons. Buss was a central player in both the show and the Lakers‘ rise to dominance in the 1980s. The show simply could not have gone on without him.
John C. Reilly Is Proud of His Lakers Role
Based on the book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s” by Jeff Pearlman, “Winning Time” was not meant to be a journalistic representation of the Lakers. It was highly dramatized, which Reilly loved.
“Just because I didn’t see it doesn’t mean I’m not super proud of it,” he added. “I loved everything we did. I was there, so I know what it was like. And that character was one of the best characters I’ve ever played.”
Of course, the real people portrayed in the movie were not fans. Jerry West took personal offense to Jason Clarke’s performance.
While Reilly was not nominated for any awards for his portrayal of Buss, he is one of the more decorated TV, movie, and theatre actors of the 21st century, with Tony, Oscar, and Golden Globe nominations to his name.
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