Winning Time Season 2, Episode 1 Recap

Let’s start with the fundamentals here: I loved HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which debuted its first season in March 2022. It had a lot going for it. The fourth-wall-breaking, surrealist approach to the late ’70s. Quincy Isaiah’s downright magnetic performance as Magic Johnson. Newcomer Solomon Hughes going straight from Stanford lectures to HBO Sunday nights, making the transition look as effortless as the skyhook itself. At the center of it all was John C. Reilly’s Jerry Buss, who—I’ll say it—was snubbed at last year’s Emmy Awards, as loaded as the Outstanding Lead Actor In a Drama Series category was.At first, the hyperbole was welcome—showtime is, well, showtime. I disagreed with those who let their Adam McKay fatigue fuel their criticism of Winning Time and its Big Short-esque cutaways, and most certainly all of the real-life Lakers legends who didn’t enjoy the series for what it was: a damn good time. But as Winning Time moved along, the… Click below to read the full story from Esquire
Read More