The best show ever canceled. So sad. This show captured nostalgia so perfectly. This felt like an HBO show. From the intro song until the end, I was hooked. HBO fucked up.
Yeah they did. I loved the intro song as well! Yeah, the show made me want to go back and learn more about the real story that the show is based off of. I think ROME is up there with best HBO shows to be canceled. We do bailouts for rich millionaires. Can we not get a bailout for this amazing show?
it was a bad show .... i loved watching it caus of the 80 lakers (and we could go on beyond shaq kobe era , getting lebron etc .....) but they need a new director better dialogues less woke / feminism back to the real things. i hope somene picks it up and continue perhaps starz
@@arvidverbraeken6111 On a planet full of sleepwalking humanoids, woke is fine with me. If only you all would rise and be human, we might build a future on the planet of humans instead of burning it down to turn it into the planet of machines (cause that's what the old people told us to do). Let's SHARE the POV of our beloved women. Out mothers. Our sisters. Our daughters. Our friends. After all, at this point (not to be in the future) are we not all children of women?
Oh, so sorry to hear this! They didn't get to Magic and Bird doing the Converse commercial and finding out they had a lot in common. 2 guys from small towns and such. Larry's mom telling Magic he is her favorite player. Magic loves to tell that story. And that both Magic and Larry become good friends. When Magic is diagnosed with HIV, many players refused to play with him, but Larry come right out and said he would play with Magic anytime. When Magic decided to retire, the first he called to tell was Larry. When Larry retired Magic was there and says that Larry had told him there would be another Bird someday and Magic said, "You are wrong. There will never be another Larry Bird." These 2 men respected each other and still do to this day. It is a shame this series didn't get that far.
I love that you laid out all of the many possibilities of things we will miss moving forward. Many of the things you mentioned would have created a great redemption arc and something audiences would have loved. There’s a great documentary on HBO about Bird and Magic that delves into some of these things, but I would have loved seeing the dramatized version on the show. Cheers Sally.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies You could tell that was the way they would have gone in a third season as they took the time to introduce Larry's mom in the final episode.
True that... Hell... We didn't even get Michael Jordan on this show And they have shown Bulls multiple times despite how bad the team was before MJ It was definitely the writers intention to plant the seeds for MJ
The actor playing Bird made the character larger than life - kind of impressive especially given how rare that kind of character steals the limelight like that sartorial snarky server / coder on silicon valley.
What suck that if they did a season 3 it will be focused on a 1984-85 season with the Lakers and Celtics rematch, Magic, dealing with the criticism, Kareem decline and the arrival of Michael Jordan.
This is disgraceful! Two seasons into a great show and story and they pull the plug. Left way to many questions and ended with the lakers losing which defies the title winning time. Honestly the cast was excellent and they should feel robbed!
Yeah, Losing Time just doesn’t have the same ring, but that’s how things felt in the end. With us all losing out on the potential of future storylines. With the cast, crew, writers and directors being robbed of their ability to create some truly amazing cinema 🎥 🏀.
Despite some historical inaccuracies the show was very entertaining. HBO has a habit of canceling good shows too early and not giving them a fair enough chance.
Yeah, I’m sure they took some creative liberties, but I did love scenes where they would say, yes, this really happened, like Larry playing in jeans 👖.
I guess they wanted to go the Rocky-Apollo route from "Rocky 1" where Apollo wins on a decision or "The Bad News Bears" where the Bears win 2nd place to The Yankees, the film's antagonists.
They could've done at least just one more season with Lakers finally beating Celtics in the finals, even if final season was only 5 episodes long. Anything to at least have had it ended with Lakers finally beating Celtics. Don't get me wrong, I would've loved to have seen more seasons showing Ralph Sampson shot to eliminate them, their rivalry with Bad boy Pistons, introduce Jordan in his early years. Then would've been cool to see a spinoff about The Bulls, or even a spinoff that focused on Celtics side of things. Too bad, though.
Great show, so disappointing! Not many shows I looked forward to, I looked forward to this show!! I hope awards are won, people eventually see its brilliance and it’s forced to come back!!! PLEASE,PLEASE
In my opinion, the show was intended to end with the scene it started with (Magic walking to the podium to announce his retirement). There were so many cool moments left to be had in this show, especially given they started dropping hints of Isaiah Thomas’ emergence throughout season 2
Yeah, the ending you described is a bittersweet way to end the series, and would have shown such an interesting journey for Magic individually and everything he contributed to the Lakers Dynasty. I was even looking forward to him and Bird’s relationship to one another softening over time. It would have made for some great television.
That’s the very first thing we see in season 1 episode 1, but you are right, we will never come back full circle to that or get to see the fallout from it. Pretty Sad.
Nice work! This is correct speaking to the lack of promotion for this series. It's in the past month that I found out about this series. I came out of high school only really liking baseball & football - no real interest in basketball. Then I caught the rivalry between Lakers, Celtics & truthfully for me - this also included the Sixers. Never being a fan before of the NBA but living about ninety-minutes west of Philadelphia - I was deciding whether I'd rather be a Sixers or Celtics fan? Being someone when younger who enjoyed physical play I gravitated towards the Eastern conference. Then watching some of the early 80's Sixers & Celtics playoff games, I got hooked! I really enjoyed and watched the NBA through much of the 90's. Not watching so much any longer. Yet, those games in the 80's especially, were just fun! Who could throw a better no look pass each night - either Magic & Bird was just one of my favorite sports hightlights! There's been many great NBA moments since, but those 80's moments were unique in themselves and pretty darn glorious!
I guess they got pressured to canceling the series cause of the backlash from the actual Lakers Legends who didn't like their portrayals in the series.. Winning Time was one of the best series to air on TV after a long time.
Definitely one of the better and more interesting series for sure. As far as legends go, I don’t think they have any legal ground to stop the show from being made. They are public figures and the show is a work of art that is being dramatized. It’s not defamatory and they even have a disclaimer at the beginning that d each episode. I think that it was simple and not enough people were watching it to justify renewing the show.
No doubt. It will be missed. If I was loaded I would just hit them up and say, make a final 10 episode season on me. Hopefully another streaming service will see the potential, but I don’t think it’s likely. Cheers.
Season 2 was a gloss over of a lot of concepts (thrown together). Also, it was less about the behind the scenes like season 1. Season 1 was how Showtime came about.
Season one had the goodwill and creative freedom to explore the early days of the Lakers Dynasty. It was able to focus more on its characters and it rush things. From the Vulture article I was quoting, it sounds like the show creators were warned that the series might not be renewed unless viewership picked up. It might be why they only greenlit 7 episodes as opposed to 10 which I think contributed to season 2 feeling rushed. In hindsight it’s easy to understand why.
Yeah, once I realized the show was actually back, I was on it right when it would air. It’s sad hearing so many people with the same disappointment and frustration.
Oh dang! I don't think they were using John C Reilly's talent well. There's a writing strike and if this show were to continue the writer's would really have an uphill battle. I wish they would have done a long season 1 and some casting changes sadly. 1:31
I thought JCR was great. Really tortured in season one and I loved when him and Red would have their pissing matches. He seemed broken, selfish, at times aloof, at others have a real clear vision. I can’t imagine anyone playing Dr. Buss better. Just my take. Cheers.
JCR did a terrific job portraying Dr. Jerry Buss, Mustache & all, LOL. No Homo but Dr. Buss was a handsome guy & I feel Reilly did him Justice. Quincy Isaiah had the “Magic Man’s” smile & DeVaughn Nixon played his Dad to a tee although his Dad disagreed with some of the plots presented such as being invited to Dr. Buss’s Mansion to eat & Talk only to be ambushed by Magic Johnson being there also. I truly enjoyed the 2 seasons & Oh by the way, Oscar Winner, Adrien Brody did a decent job as Pat Riley…
With shows like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, I do still feel like HBO is that high quality powerhouse, but certain executives are quick to cut a show off at the knees if it’s not performing like the next Game of Thrones. The ending was brutal though. Cheers.
They could have gone on to Detroit, Bulls, mix characters same as they did with Bird. So many stories in the best years of basketball and we get a few texts on screen. This show should have been something unique in switching to other teams while intermingling past characters. Sucks the way tv and movies are now, anything good is cut for what might sell toys and subscriptions. They realize there are only so many people on the planet right?
I believe the original plan was to go until Magic retires.We would surely see Magic and Bird making peace, then the Bad Boyds, then Jordan, then the HIV..... I am so pissed the show will not continue.
Yeah, we got robbed of seeing a complete story. No beating the Celtics in the finals, no redemption arc for Bird and Magic, even though we know all of this happened and was likely to be in a season 3 or 4.
I would not be surprised if the Lakers' management (i.e. Jeanie Buss) and Magic Johnson themselves lobbied to cancel the show, since they were very vocal on how they thought the show was disrespectful to a few Lakers (like Jerry West, Kareem, Jeanie and the Buss family) + they didn't want more of their historic "dirty laundry" being dramatized in the show... Such a shame, as it was the best basketball series and one of the best sports series ever.
Ending a show about the SHOWTIME lakers on a Celtics win just doesn’t sit right with me at all. Idc. They knew there was a possibility of the show ending in January so they should’ve tried to end on the 85 championship. Also a show about showtime lakers not having 60 percent of the showtime lakers in it is a joke. Rambis has like 2 lines, Scott never talks, worthy gets a few lines but that’s it. No thompson or green either. Zaslav is a war criminal for this and batgirl. Hbo max doesn’t have enough content to do stuff like this.
I can’t really disagree on any of your points. It would have been better if they had been given a 10 episode season, like season 1. The 3 extra episodes could have covered the 85 championship and a bit of redemption. Yeah, not sure if Zaslav was the one who axed it or not, but if he is, then you’re right, shit’s criminal.
This was the best show on TV period. I looked forward to every episode. I'm hoping for the impossible that HBO gets so many letters and e-mails that they will reconsider and bring the show back.
I found out that season 2 even exists when 3 episodes were already out.. And I follow the industry quite a lot.. regular TV viewers never had a chance to know about the show (let alone season 2)
Yeah, I was in the same boat. I didn’t know it was airing until 2 episodes in. The result isn’t surprising, but it is disappointing. It’s so much work to get a show greenlit, it’s amazing that they don’t take better care of their properties and believe in them more.
This is very sad for all the parties involved, especially the actor and actresses The first ever scene shown in season 1 was Magic HIV announcement Which means they got high hopes to do multiple seasons for this series Season 1 was really good imo But, the whole Jerry West and ex players fiasco gave this show a bad rep inside basketball discourse This means people (especially basketball fans) who don't own HBO Max only hear bad news surrounding the series and will not gave any chance to ever watch the show Giving reasons for cancellation of this show Such a shame because i can say almost all of the casts involved really gave it all on their performances And the crew really went creative with every shot and concept of this series
HBO picks up the worst way to end one of the best shows produced last year. There's ways to do things properly, this was not one of them... Great show, great cast, great music. Poor ending
All very true points. This was definitely not the showrunners intended ending. The higher ups told them they were done, so they did the best they could tacking on the final scene. It would have been super depressing to just end on Magic crying in the shower.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence HBO cancels winning time while also making a deal with the NBA to stream games. 🤔 I know magic didn’t like the show for sure.
Ahh, a good old conspiracy theory. I saw that Magic didn’t like it which struck me as odd, but I guess he felt like it wasn’t an accurate representation. I felt like Quincy Isaiah played Magic to perfection.
I mean, we kinda do because history, google, UA-cam and whatnot, but I get what you are saying. We will never see their dramatic retelling of what happened.
I didn't want it cancelled. Now it feels like a bunch of untold stories just sitting lost. Hopefully some other streaming service can pick it up, so the series can continue.
Same. I got that bad feeling when the first title card showed up, and then they just kept “spoiling” the rest of the history throughout the 80’s. I was like, “well, I guess it’s done then.”
HBO should have did a quick fast forward to the 1985 NBA Finals. Where the Lakers finally beat the Celtics. Behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar great performance. After the Memorial Day Massacre in Game 1.
I agree they should have done a lot of things differently, but the sad part is they didn’t know it was getting canceled until everything had already been filmed. They didn’t find out until midway into the season when the ratings numbers came in. So they couldn’t exactly change course. But it’s still a bummer.
I'm sure I wasn't the only one waiting on all the episodes being available before starting to binge watch season 2. They should've waited a week or two after the finally to truly gauge interest. I thought there was suppose to be 8 episodes for Season 2 so I haven't even started watching it yet.
Yeah, it’s all done and over, but you should have a good time watching the final 7 episodes: I wish it had been 10, but yeah, you weren’t the only one who waited to binge.
it might have something to do with Jerry west and magic Johnson not approving the show. jerry west was thinking about a lawsuit and magic Johnson said they didn't get their blessing. or it could of been Adam silver and the nba cuz they were revealing a lot but its a FU and slap in the face to los Angeles and lakers fans.
Yeah, I think it had more to do with money and ratings than anything. The NBA, West, Magic don’t have any legal grounds to sue a show that is dramatization of real events. They even have a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode. I could be wrong.
Sad...this was a great show, loved the character portrayals and some of the best basketball game scenes in a show/movie. Had me watching Showtime highlights from the 80s! Think it just ended up getting lost after The Last Dance and Air....guess MJ is still the GOAT lol.
I do wonder if casual viewers or people who watch stuff like GOT, Succession, and Euphoria just didn’t give this show a chance. “Oh, I don’t care about sports, I’m not watching that.” “I don’t like the Lakers. Why would I watch that?” Perhaps it just didn’t have more mass appeal which is crazy to me.
Thank you. I was super sad last night. We didn’t even get 2 full seasons. I wish they had greenlit a full 10 episodes. They could have told so much more story with just 3 more episodes. Thanks for the love!!
I feel that HBO didn’t give the show the chance it deserved, hardly any promotion, here in the UK I had to go looking for it on our steaming service. Writers strike, actors strike didn’t help, I accept that, but Succession was hyped all over the place, great show but no better than Winning Time, Winning Time was a blast, everyone involved deserved better, the actors having their first chance at something great and us, the fans of the show.
Yeah, I fully agree. I didn’t know it was on until about 2 weeks in and it was buried behind some Kanye West documentary. I feel like they could have waited out the strikes so the actors could properly promote the show. Damn!
The strike killed this show. I remember Rich Eisen and others having the actors on and even recapping the season 1. Also battling football season was not the best idea. A third season could wrap most of this plot line up
Yeah, it was basically a giant shit storm that culminated in an amazing show being axed. The strikes, football, Zaslav, ratings, there are so many possibilities as to why this happened. It’s just sad.
HBO didnt do much to hype the show, atleast here in Europe. No ads, commercials etc. If you compare it with that new John Wick show from Amazon. I have seen more ads from that show today (!!) than i have seen ads for any HBO show ever (besides House of the Dragon). Zero promotion for the Lakers.
How did he not know it was the series finale, though? The writer talked about it early on…his fear and that it was ended…it was not a surprise at all by the last episode. Shitty decision. Terrible decision. Yes, Max advertised it like Apple did, Apple killed Physical, and it sickens me.
This was a great show. But I have a feeling they could run into legal troubles with the potrayal of Jerry West amongst others. A real same, Lakers Celtics in the 1980s was the pinnicle of sports rivalry. Bird Magic are the best contrast in Sports Stars, in any sport.
Yeah for sure. That decade was insane. I was born in 85 so I only have a passing recollection of things and then caught up later in life. Most films are protected when using someone’s likeness, and the show had a disclaimer before every episode, so I don’t think the Jerry West stuff was a factor. He wouldn’t have any real legal ground to sue. It’s artistic expression rather than defamation.
Yes this show took some liberties that are considered fiction , but for someone like me who doesn't robustly follow basketball, its a good explanation piece and the fledgling NBA and LA lakers that made it what it is today.
Yeah, I think it was great for people who both follow basketball closely and those who don’t. It was just a really solid show, period. I think it was mainly a few players including Magic who were outspoken about the show. I mean it is their lives, but Magic seemed to say it was entirely inaccurate while also claiming he’d never watched the show. IDK, I thought it was pretty faithful to the historical events as we know them with some interpersonal relationship details being exaggerated for television. Cheers.
I pray they finish this show as this does feel like a w for Celtics fans ngl the show was too good to end there its like the ending to Oz tho so it wouldn't surprise me of hbo did this to another one of there classic shows have an incredible beginning and . middle just to end it terribly
Had potential to go on for like 8 seasons they could've had it go from 1984-2020 with a revolving door of cast LeBron just passed Kareem that could've been a small story line in like the final season they could've done two seasons built off of Shaq and Kobe's rivalry Paul Pierce and Kobe LeBron HBO really killed a cash cow
I blame HBO. They knew there's a current actors & writers strike going on & they chose to release Winning Time anyway. Season 2 had little to noy promo at all because the actors & writers weren't being allowed to promote their show. It makes no damn sense. Winning Time deserved better. Winning Time is not only the greatest sports drama series in years, but also the best drama series of 2023 period. It really sucks, because based on the pilot episode the creators had planned for the series to last until Magic Johnson is forced to stop playing due to his HIV diagnosis. I was really excited to see Magic Johnson & the Lakers go against Michael Jordan & the Bulls. That would've been EPIC. I seriously hope that another network picks up Winning Time, but the problem with that is that no canceled HBO series has ever been saved by another network in the history of television. It doesn't easy to happen. But I certainly hope it does. "Suits" recently broke a bunch of television records after the reruns got picked up on Netflix, & shows like Manifest & Lucifer did amazing ratings over there, too. Hopefully, Netflix will attempt to pick up Winning Time for a Season 3 because I think that the ratings would be through the roof.
Thanks for the response, Wynton. I agree, they should have waited for the strikes to end and properly promoted the show. Instead it just quietly died, with no one allowed to fight for it or voice their opinions. I was really looking forward to the show coming back full circle with the HIV diagnosis, because that was absolutely devastating. The show was so well acted, and it felt like reliving a piece of history. Thanks for your insights, Wynton. Cheers.
I was looking forward to the Lakers-Mavericks Western Conference rivalry from 1988. That was one of the most epic series in NBA history. You could've done a series on the Mavericks from nothing expansion team in 1980 to NBA Title contender in 1988.
Big mistake! Bring it back! All actors did an excellnt job! I know Jerry West didn't like the show but I thought his character was the most intesting of them all.
Same. I found Jerry West's dialogue to be the most impassioned, angry, and hilarious all at the same time. And Jason Clarke played the character so well.
Yeah, do what you gotta do. Speak with your wallet. And Just Like That is likely way less expensive to produce and the cast doesn’t have nearly as many A Listers. That’s likely part of the story there.
So disappointing. Loved this show. The marketing of this terrific series was poor, and I think it went under the radar for many. HBO should at least allow us a 3. season for the great 1985 settlement between Lakers and Celtics…. Bad discision!!!
Yeah, we robbed straight up. There’s a really good documentary on HBO called Magic and Bird detailing everything from their perspectives. It’s pretty solid.
This show was suppose to end when magic made his hiv announcement!! That’s how the show started! I really hate HBO at this point… no more boxing. Canceling great shows. Deadwood, how to make it in America and now this?? Bullsh*t
Great points, I love that the show started with the HIV diagnosis and it was the perfect thing narratively to come full circle to. I still think HBO has the best content hands down, but I don’t love the people who are in the decision making positions. Zaslav, I’m talking to you.
The quality difference between season 1 and 2 are insane, drastically different in the way characters were given time, depth, and good writing to grow. It is also such a bummer almost bordering on the edge of disgrace that they glossed over 2 seasons of basketball that led to this team’s actual rise as a dynasty. The ending feels like the first half of rocky 3 just ended after rocky lost and that was it. In conclusion season 2 of this show covers time and concepts that could span across multiple seasons of this show.. Rushed is just a fragment of how to put it.
That is one part of the equation. I think if HBO had been a bit smarter they would have waited to air the show until the strikes were over, then they could have properly promoted it.
The best show ever canceled. So sad. This show captured nostalgia so perfectly. This felt like an HBO show. From the intro song until the end, I was hooked. HBO fucked up.
Yeah they did. I loved the intro song as well! Yeah, the show made me want to go back and learn more about the real story that the show is based off of. I think ROME is up there with best HBO shows to be canceled. We do bailouts for rich millionaires. Can we not get a bailout for this amazing show?
Na the best show ever canceled is Constantine.
it was a bad show .... i loved watching it caus of the 80 lakers (and we could go on beyond shaq kobe era , getting lebron etc .....) but they need a new director better dialogues less woke / feminism back to the real things.
i hope somene picks it up and continue perhaps starz
@@arvidverbraeken6111 On a planet full of sleepwalking humanoids, woke is fine with me. If only you all would rise and be human, we might build a future on the planet of humans instead of burning it down to turn it into the planet of machines (cause that's what the old people told us to do). Let's SHARE the POV of our beloved women. Out mothers. Our sisters. Our daughters. Our friends. After all, at this point (not to be in the future) are we not all children of women?
@@ConsiderationFarm you are just saying nonesense
Oh, so sorry to hear this! They didn't get to Magic and Bird doing the Converse commercial and finding out they had a lot in common. 2 guys from small towns and such. Larry's mom telling Magic he is her favorite player. Magic loves to tell that story. And that both Magic and Larry become good friends. When Magic is diagnosed with HIV, many players refused to play with him, but Larry come right out and said he would play with Magic anytime. When Magic decided to retire, the first he called to tell was Larry. When Larry retired Magic was there and says that Larry had told him there would be another Bird someday and Magic said, "You are wrong. There will never be another Larry Bird." These 2 men respected each other and still do to this day. It is a shame this series didn't get that far.
I love that you laid out all of the many possibilities of things we will miss moving forward. Many of the things you mentioned would have created a great redemption arc and something audiences would have loved. There’s a great documentary on HBO about Bird and Magic that delves into some of these things, but I would have loved seeing the dramatized version on the show. Cheers Sally.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies You could tell that was the way they would have gone in a third season as they took the time to introduce Larry's mom in the final episode.
True that... Hell... We didn't even get Michael Jordan on this show
And they have shown Bulls multiple times despite how bad the team was before MJ
It was definitely the writers intention to plant the seeds for MJ
The actor playing Bird made the character larger than life - kind of impressive especially given how rare that kind of character steals the limelight like that sartorial snarky server / coder on silicon valley.
What suck that if they did a season 3 it will be focused on a 1984-85 season with the Lakers and Celtics rematch, Magic, dealing with the criticism, Kareem decline and the arrival of Michael Jordan.
That's awful. It was the best show on HBO by far...
Yeah. I’m truly sad about it. Cheers.
This is disgraceful! Two seasons into a great show and story and they pull the plug. Left way to many questions and ended with the lakers losing which defies the title winning time. Honestly the cast was excellent and they should feel robbed!
Yeah, Losing Time just doesn’t have the same ring, but that’s how things felt in the end. With us all losing out on the potential of future storylines. With the cast, crew, writers and directors being robbed of their ability to create some truly amazing cinema 🎥 🏀.
No the show sucks and the guy who plays magic Johnson is awful
HBO did it me again! Rome and Deadwood, now this.
Same. I love Rome, and I still watch it now.
Yeah, Rome was so good and only 2 seasons of it. Loved Titus Pullo. RIP Ray Stevenson.
No doubt. I throw it in every few years. Still have it on Blu ray. Cheers.
Deadwood. What a damned shame. The best western show of all time.
I liked a series called Vinyl that they canceled after one year also
What a bummer. Really enjoyed the show.
Maybe Netflix will pick it up if the demand is there.
I would love for another streamer to pick it up. It’s obviously well loved, I’m just not sure how large the audience was for it. Cheers Scott.
Netflix would turn magic trans and it would be a woke pile of shit. Keep it off Netflix
That would be a disappointment.
@@ihateallthethings2683Netflox be canceling Dope shows too look at Mindhunters smh
Netflix ruins everything it touches.
Despite some historical inaccuracies the show was very entertaining. HBO has a habit of canceling good shows too early and not giving them a fair enough chance.
Yeah, I’m sure they took some creative liberties, but I did love scenes where they would say, yes, this really happened, like Larry playing in jeans 👖.
It is also unfortunate how it got canceled on a season where their arch-rival Celtics winning championship.
Yeah, not great timing.
I guess they wanted to go the Rocky-Apollo route from "Rocky 1" where Apollo wins on a decision or "The Bad News Bears" where the Bears win 2nd place to The Yankees, the film's antagonists.
director a Celtics fans
They could've done at least just one more season with Lakers finally beating Celtics in the finals, even if final season was only 5 episodes long. Anything to at least have had it ended with Lakers finally beating Celtics. Don't get me wrong, I would've loved to have seen more seasons showing Ralph Sampson shot to eliminate them, their rivalry with Bad boy Pistons, introduce Jordan in his early years. Then would've been cool to see a spinoff about The Bulls, or even a spinoff that focused on Celtics side of things. Too bad, though.
I was shocked that was the final episode…such a bummer
I felt the exact same way. And then I realized there was nothing I could do about it, but make a video and find other sad fans as well.
What a bummer!
No doubt. The show had so much charisma.
Great show, so disappointing! Not many shows I looked forward to, I looked forward to this show!!
I hope awards are won, people eventually see its brilliance and it’s forced to come back!!!
PLEASE,PLEASE
I cried. I love Pat Riley
Aww. And I felt like he was played so well by Adrien Brody.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂you cried?
What a b----
-Larry Legend
U cried? Grow up
@@TheSands83 yes daddy
Fuck pat riley but this show is awesome 🎉
Such a great watch. Sad to see it cancelled. It has so much potential from the actors and story lines.
This show was really good and I hope they start it up again
Soooo good. Yeah, once something gets canceled, it’s hard to bring it back from the dead 💀.
I was about to suscribe to HBO because I wanted to watch all the episodes of Winning time . Thank you very much for this piece of information.👍🙂🏀
You’re welcome. You can now go in in with tempered expectations. Enjoy, it’s a great series.
In my opinion, the show was intended to end with the scene it started with (Magic walking to the podium to announce his retirement). There were so many cool moments left to be had in this show, especially given they started dropping hints of Isaiah Thomas’ emergence throughout season 2
Yeah, the ending you described is a bittersweet way to end the series, and would have shown such an interesting journey for Magic individually and everything he contributed to the Lakers Dynasty. I was even looking forward to him and Bird’s relationship to one another softening over time. It would have made for some great television.
Well never seen the scene of Magic leaving the doctor's office in an episode...
That’s the very first thing we see in season 1 episode 1, but you are right, we will never come back full circle to that or get to see the fallout from it. Pretty Sad.
Nice work! This is correct speaking to the lack of promotion for this series. It's in the past month that I found out about this series. I came out of high school only really liking baseball & football - no real interest in basketball. Then I caught the rivalry between Lakers, Celtics & truthfully for me - this also included the Sixers. Never being a fan before of the NBA but living about ninety-minutes west of Philadelphia - I was deciding whether I'd rather be a Sixers or Celtics fan? Being someone when younger who enjoyed physical play I gravitated towards the Eastern conference. Then watching some of the early 80's Sixers & Celtics playoff games, I got hooked! I really enjoyed and watched the NBA through much of the 90's. Not watching so much any longer. Yet, those games in the 80's especially, were just fun! Who could throw a better no look pass each night - either Magic & Bird was just one of my favorite sports hightlights! There's been many great NBA moments since, but those 80's moments were unique in themselves and pretty darn glorious!
This made me so upset. Im not even a laker fan but this show was 🔥
Sums up my feelings exactly.
My GOT post traumatic stress disorder came back ...thank you MAX...
Yeah, I think even if they finished out another 2 seasons and they were terrible (GOT), I would still take that over the show just getting canned.
I guess they got pressured to canceling the series cause of the backlash from the actual Lakers Legends who didn't like their portrayals in the series.. Winning Time was one of the best series to air on TV after a long time.
Definitely one of the better and more interesting series for sure. As far as legends go, I don’t think they have any legal ground to stop the show from being made. They are public figures and the show is a work of art that is being dramatized. It’s not defamatory and they even have a disclaimer at the beginning that d each episode. I think that it was simple and not enough people were watching it to justify renewing the show.
My favorite show they really down bad for this b.s 🤦🏾♂️
Yup, it’s pretty shitty.
Great show. Hope some other streaming service picks it up 🤞
No doubt. It will be missed. If I was loaded I would just hit them up and say, make a final 10 episode season on me. Hopefully another streaming service will see the potential, but I don’t think it’s likely. Cheers.
Season 2 was a gloss over of a lot of concepts (thrown together). Also, it was less about the behind the scenes like season 1. Season 1 was how Showtime came about.
Season one had the goodwill and creative freedom to explore the early days of the Lakers Dynasty. It was able to focus more on its characters and it rush things. From the Vulture article I was quoting, it sounds like the show creators were warned that the series might not be renewed unless viewership picked up. It might be why they only greenlit 7 episodes as opposed to 10 which I think contributed to season 2 feeling rushed. In hindsight it’s easy to understand why.
There was very few shows that could get me there at 9pm sharp and this was it. So mad it’s over. Truly loved it
Yeah, once I realized the show was actually back, I was on it right when it would air. It’s sad hearing so many people with the same disappointment and frustration.
Oh dang! I don't think they were using John C Reilly's talent well. There's a writing strike and if this show were to continue the writer's would really have an uphill battle. I wish they would have done a long season 1 and some casting changes sadly. 1:31
I thought JCR was great. Really tortured in season one and I loved when him and Red would have their pissing matches. He seemed broken, selfish, at times aloof, at others have a real clear vision. I can’t imagine anyone playing Dr. Buss better. Just my take. Cheers.
JCR did a terrific job portraying Dr. Jerry Buss, Mustache & all, LOL. No Homo but Dr. Buss was a handsome guy & I feel Reilly did him Justice. Quincy Isaiah had the “Magic Man’s” smile & DeVaughn Nixon played his Dad to a tee although his Dad disagreed with some of the plots presented such as being invited to Dr. Buss’s Mansion to eat & Talk only to be ambushed by Magic Johnson being there also. I truly enjoyed the 2 seasons & Oh by the way, Oscar Winner, Adrien Brody did a decent job as Pat Riley…
HBO is not any more the high quality artistic power house it was in the past. The end sucks, its is just a brutal cut.
With shows like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, I do still feel like HBO is that high quality powerhouse, but certain executives are quick to cut a show off at the knees if it’s not performing like the next Game of Thrones. The ending was brutal though. Cheers.
This was a really good show. I’m disappointed that it was canceled
I feel you.
They could have gone on to Detroit, Bulls, mix characters same as they did with Bird. So many stories in the best years of basketball and we get a few texts on screen. This show should have been something unique in switching to other teams while intermingling past characters. Sucks the way tv and movies are now, anything good is cut for what might sell toys and subscriptions. They realize there are only so many people on the planet right?
I believe the original plan was to go until Magic retires.We would surely see Magic and Bird making peace, then the Bad Boyds, then Jordan, then the HIV.....
I am so pissed the show will not continue.
Yeah, we got robbed of seeing a complete story. No beating the Celtics in the finals, no redemption arc for Bird and Magic, even though we know all of this happened and was likely to be in a season 3 or 4.
I would not be surprised if the Lakers' management (i.e. Jeanie Buss) and Magic Johnson themselves lobbied to cancel the show, since they were very vocal on how they thought the show was disrespectful to a few Lakers (like Jerry West, Kareem, Jeanie and the Buss family) + they didn't want more of their historic "dirty laundry" being dramatized in the show...
Such a shame, as it was the best basketball series and one of the best sports series ever.
Ending a show about the SHOWTIME lakers on a Celtics win just doesn’t sit right with me at all. Idc. They knew there was a possibility of the show ending in January so they should’ve tried to end on the 85 championship. Also a show about showtime lakers not having 60 percent of the showtime lakers in it is a joke. Rambis has like 2 lines, Scott never talks, worthy gets a few lines but that’s it. No thompson or green either. Zaslav is a war criminal for this and batgirl. Hbo max doesn’t have enough content to do stuff like this.
After Kareem's house burned down and Kareem arrives in the dressing room, Byron Scott says, "Sorry about the crib, dude."
Oh, well...
I can’t really disagree on any of your points. It would have been better if they had been given a 10 episode season, like season 1. The 3 extra episodes could have covered the 85 championship and a bit of redemption. Yeah, not sure if Zaslav was the one who axed it or not, but if he is, then you’re right, shit’s criminal.
you're spot on. ending on a Celtic win is quite unfitting.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies he calls the shots so I’m sure it ran thru him.
The only show now that needs to be cancel is HBO
Yeah, cancel your membership. Speak with your wallet.
This was the best show on TV period. I looked forward to every episode. I'm hoping for the impossible that HBO gets so many letters and e-mails that they will reconsider and bring the show back.
That’s not saying much😂
Yeah, that’s a tough one. Historically they have never done that. Once they’ve canceled it, it’s done. I appreciate your optimism though.
Excuse Me. YOU ARE RUDE.!!!@@TheSands83
Thank you very much. You are kind.@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies
U R not the only one 😢 Im from Serbia ,Europe.And my heart is broken 😢 But like 4 real 😢 We Serbs love the game ❤🏀🎖🏆 And the show was GREAT
I found out that season 2 even exists when 3 episodes were already out.. And I follow the industry quite a lot.. regular TV viewers never had a chance to know about the show (let alone season 2)
Yeah, I was in the same boat. I didn’t know it was airing until 2 episodes in. The result isn’t surprising, but it is disappointing. It’s so much work to get a show greenlit, it’s amazing that they don’t take better care of their properties and believe in them more.
This is very sad for all the parties involved, especially the actor and actresses
The first ever scene shown in season 1 was Magic HIV announcement
Which means they got high hopes to do multiple seasons for this series
Season 1 was really good imo
But, the whole Jerry West and ex players fiasco gave this show a bad rep inside basketball discourse
This means people (especially basketball fans) who don't own HBO Max only hear bad news surrounding the series and will not gave any chance to ever watch the show
Giving reasons for cancellation of this show
Such a shame because i can say almost all of the casts involved really gave it all on their performances
And the crew really went creative with every shot and concept of this series
That Sucks , I looked forward for Sunday nights .
Yeah. Same.
HBO picks up the worst way to end one of the best shows produced last year. There's ways to do things properly, this was not one of them... Great show, great cast, great music. Poor ending
All very true points. This was definitely not the showrunners intended ending. The higher ups told them they were done, so they did the best they could tacking on the final scene. It would have been super depressing to just end on Magic crying in the shower.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence HBO cancels winning time while also making a deal with the NBA to stream games. 🤔 I know magic didn’t like the show for sure.
Ahh, a good old conspiracy theory. I saw that Magic didn’t like it which struck me as odd, but I guess he felt like it wasn’t an accurate representation. I felt like Quincy Isaiah played Magic to perfection.
Why would he like the show? The guy who plays him is fucking terrible 😂
I SAT DOWN AND WATCHED THE FIRST SEASON 5 EPISODES IN A ROW IT BLEW ME AWAY INCREDIBLY AWESOME AND REALESTIC LOVED IT IMMENSLY HBO MADE A BIG MISTAKE
They sure did. I’m glad you are enjoying the series.
Yeah I was surprised a lot by this . Damn it ! I liked it a lot . Brought back nostalgia back in the 80’s growing up .
Same. It made me want to watch a bunch of documentaries about that time period and different UA-cam videos as well.
Now we wont ever know what happened 😢
I mean, we kinda do because history, google, UA-cam and whatnot, but I get what you are saying. We will never see their dramatic retelling of what happened.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies well that went over your head lol
I didn't want it cancelled.
Now it feels like a bunch of untold stories just sitting lost.
Hopefully some other streaming service can pick it up, so the series can continue.
I feel the exact same way. Here’s to hoping.
Show was amazing. It not being promoted definitely killed it
East bound and down, Hello Ladies and now this?!!!
Yeah, not a great track record. This one definitely bums me out.
The problem with the ending is it was so herky-jerky. It wasnt a smooth landing. When the title cards showed up at the end i knew it was over.
Same. I got that bad feeling when the first title card showed up, and then they just kept “spoiling” the rest of the history throughout the 80’s. I was like, “well, I guess it’s done then.”
This show had so much potential especially for spin offs like could watch this crew detail literally every year in NBA history
Yeah. I wish more people had discovered it. It would have been cool to see different eras and different teams even.
This some bullsh*t 😤
I know. Sad day.
Wow⁉️never even made it to the budding of Zeke or MJ ..
Nope. And this won’t encourage other studios to green light projects like it in the future, which is too bad.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies agreed indeed
Also a debut of Coach Phil Jackson
What! Half way through season one and was actually loving this.
Yeah, it’s sad news. I hope you enjoy the rest of season 1 and are able to enjoy season 2 despite the fact that that’s it.
COME ON, NETFLIX ! SOME RICH GUY ! I DON'T KNOW ! KEEP THIS SHOW GOING !!!!!
Haha, throw some of that Bezos money at it Amazon. Come on!
That sucks 😡
Most definitely.
HBO should have did a quick fast forward to the 1985 NBA Finals. Where the Lakers finally beat the Celtics. Behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar great performance. After the Memorial Day Massacre in Game 1.
I agree they should have done a lot of things differently, but the sad part is they didn’t know it was getting canceled until everything had already been filmed. They didn’t find out until midway into the season when the ratings numbers came in. So they couldn’t exactly change course. But it’s still a bummer.
I'm sure I wasn't the only one waiting on all the episodes being available before starting to binge watch season 2. They should've waited a week or two after the finally to truly gauge interest. I thought there was suppose to be 8 episodes for Season 2 so I haven't even started watching it yet.
Yeah, it’s all done and over, but you should have a good time watching the final 7 episodes: I wish it had been 10, but yeah, you weren’t the only one who waited to binge.
it might have something to do with Jerry west and magic Johnson not approving the show. jerry west was thinking about a lawsuit and magic Johnson said they didn't get their blessing. or it could of been Adam silver and the nba cuz they were revealing a lot but its a FU and slap in the face to los Angeles and lakers fans.
Yeah, I think it had more to do with money and ratings than anything. The NBA, West, Magic don’t have any legal grounds to sue a show that is dramatization of real events. They even have a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode. I could be wrong.
Yea, I was looking forward to episode 8. Needless to say that episode 7 ruined my night
Yeah, I went to bed super bummed 🫤.
Wow just wow. We didn’t even get to see the bad boy pistons 😢
Nope. We didn’t get a lot of things. So much squandered potential.
the only reason i have HBO Max
You may not be the only one. There may be a slew of cancellations after this.
@@LonelyGuyLovesMovies damn I was expecting the series to end with Magics Fina Playoff run against Michael
Great series. Sad to see it goes...
No doubt. Major Bummer.
Sad...this was a great show, loved the character portrayals and some of the best basketball game scenes in a show/movie. Had me watching Showtime highlights from the 80s! Think it just ended up getting lost after The Last Dance and Air....guess MJ is still the GOAT lol.
I do wonder if casual viewers or people who watch stuff like GOT, Succession, and Euphoria just didn’t give this show a chance. “Oh, I don’t care about sports, I’m not watching that.” “I don’t like the Lakers. Why would I watch that?” Perhaps it just didn’t have more mass appeal which is crazy to me.
Loved this show! 😢
I made a vid on shorts about this!
Btw awesome job with this video ❤
Thank you. I was super sad last night. We didn’t even get 2 full seasons. I wish they had greenlit a full 10 episodes. They could have told so much more story with just 3 more episodes. Thanks for the love!!
Yeah... Apple. Hope they'll pick it up, as soon as the strike's over.
I feel that HBO didn’t give the show the chance it deserved, hardly any promotion, here in the UK I had to go looking for it on our steaming service.
Writers strike, actors strike didn’t help, I accept that, but Succession was hyped all over the place, great show but no better than Winning Time, Winning Time was a blast, everyone involved deserved better, the actors having their first chance at something great and us, the fans of the show.
Yeah, I fully agree. I didn’t know it was on until about 2 weeks in and it was buried behind some Kanye West documentary. I feel like they could have waited out the strikes so the actors could properly promote the show. Damn!
The strike killed this show. I remember Rich Eisen and others having the actors on and even recapping the season 1. Also battling football season was not the best idea. A third season could wrap most of this plot line up
Yeah, it was basically a giant shit storm that culminated in an amazing show being axed. The strikes, football, Zaslav, ratings, there are so many possibilities as to why this happened. It’s just sad.
HBO didnt do much to hype the show, atleast here in Europe. No ads, commercials etc. If you compare it with that new John Wick show from Amazon. I have seen more ads from that show today (!!) than i have seen ads for any HBO show ever (besides House of the Dragon). Zero promotion for the Lakers.
Yeah, it was the same here in the States. Literally, no promotion.
Yeah too much dirt is coming out 😅
Haha, that’s one theory.
How did he not know it was the series finale, though? The writer talked about it early on…his fear and that it was ended…it was not a surprise at all by the last episode. Shitty decision. Terrible decision. Yes, Max advertised it like Apple did, Apple killed Physical, and it sickens me.
This was a great show. But I have a feeling they could run into legal troubles with the potrayal of Jerry West amongst others.
A real same, Lakers Celtics in the 1980s was the pinnicle of sports rivalry.
Bird Magic are the best contrast in Sports Stars, in any sport.
Yeah for sure. That decade was insane. I was born in 85 so I only have a passing recollection of things and then caught up later in life. Most films are protected when using someone’s likeness, and the show had a disclaimer before every episode, so I don’t think the Jerry West stuff was a factor. He wouldn’t have any real legal ground to sue. It’s artistic expression rather than defamation.
Yes this show took some liberties that are considered fiction , but for someone like me who doesn't robustly follow basketball, its a good explanation piece and the fledgling NBA and LA lakers that made it what it is today.
Yeah, I think it was great for people who both follow basketball closely and those who don’t. It was just a really solid show, period. I think it was mainly a few players including Magic who were outspoken about the show. I mean it is their lives, but Magic seemed to say it was entirely inaccurate while also claiming he’d never watched the show. IDK, I thought it was pretty faithful to the historical events as we know them with some interpersonal relationship details being exaggerated for television. Cheers.
I’m sure it’s because HBO wanted to cover the Kobe and Shaq dynasty and they was getting push back from Shaq and the Bryant Estate
Possibly, but that would have been way down the line. They had at least 2-3 more solid seasons worth of telling the 80’s Lakers story.
I pray they finish this show as this does feel like a w for Celtics fans ngl the show was too good to end there its like the ending to Oz tho so it wouldn't surprise me of hbo did this to another one of there classic shows have an incredible beginning and . middle just to end it terribly
Had potential to go on for like 8 seasons they could've had it go from 1984-2020 with a revolving door of cast LeBron just passed Kareem that could've been a small story line in like the final season they could've done two seasons built off of Shaq and Kobe's rivalry Paul Pierce and Kobe LeBron HBO really killed a cash cow
Yeah, and the drama really writes itself because it’s all history. Sports have so much built in drama it’s crazy.
one of the really great shows of HBO just got cancelled :/
Yup. It’s a total bummer.
Completely agree!
Awesome! Thanks for the support. Cheers.
This show was sooooo good, and well-directed...what a shame!!!
Truly.
I blame HBO. They knew there's a current actors & writers strike going on & they chose to release Winning Time anyway. Season 2 had little to noy promo at all because the actors & writers weren't being allowed to promote their show. It makes no damn sense. Winning Time deserved better. Winning Time is not only the greatest sports drama series in years, but also the best drama series of 2023 period. It really sucks, because based on the pilot episode the creators had planned for the series to last until Magic Johnson is forced to stop playing due to his HIV diagnosis. I was really excited to see Magic Johnson & the Lakers go against Michael Jordan & the Bulls. That would've been EPIC. I seriously hope that another network picks up Winning Time, but the problem with that is that no canceled HBO series has ever been saved by another network in the history of television. It doesn't easy to happen. But I certainly hope it does. "Suits" recently broke a bunch of television records after the reruns got picked up on Netflix, & shows like Manifest & Lucifer did amazing ratings over there, too. Hopefully, Netflix will attempt to pick up Winning Time for a Season 3 because I think that the ratings would be through the roof.
Thanks for the response, Wynton. I agree, they should have waited for the strikes to end and properly promoted the show. Instead it just quietly died, with no one allowed to fight for it or voice their opinions. I was really looking forward to the show coming back full circle with the HIV diagnosis, because that was absolutely devastating. The show was so well acted, and it felt like reliving a piece of history. Thanks for your insights, Wynton. Cheers.
I was looking forward to the Lakers-Mavericks Western Conference rivalry from 1988. That was one of the most epic series in NBA history. You could've done a series on the Mavericks from nothing expansion team in 1980 to NBA Title contender in 1988.
This bums me out. It’s such a great story.
Yeah, incredible cast and such a well made show.
Big mistake! Bring it back! All actors did an excellnt job! I know Jerry West didn't like the show but I thought his character was the most intesting of them all.
Same. I found Jerry West's dialogue to be the most impassioned, angry, and hilarious all at the same time. And Jason Clarke played the character so well.
Winning Time cancelled, while and just like that got a 3 season.
Yeah, I just cancelled my HBO subscription.
Yeah, do what you gotta do. Speak with your wallet. And Just Like That is likely way less expensive to produce and the cast doesn’t have nearly as many A Listers. That’s likely part of the story there.
So disappointing. Loved this show. The marketing of this terrific series was poor, and I think it went under the radar for many. HBO should at least allow us a 3. season for the great 1985 settlement between Lakers and Celtics…. Bad discision!!!
Yeah. I agree on all points. There is no going back now. You done fucked up HBO.
Very unfortunate i really liked this show season 2 was very good but it sped things up but it ended before the 1980’s dynasty & rivalry ended.
Yeah, we robbed straight up. There’s a really good documentary on HBO called Magic and Bird detailing everything from their perspectives. It’s pretty solid.
HBO probably thought this series was about the Clippers.
Yeah ... that's not good..
I hear that. Booooooo.
Noooooo
Haha, my sentiments exactly!
Why !!@
I'm so fucking passed right now!!! 😡😡😡😡😡 I'm upset I feel deceived and let down 😭😭😭 I watched every episode like 6 times
I’m sorry. It is very frustrating.
I haven’t been this disappointed in HBO since Game of Thrones season 8.
😂 Haha, Same. For how brilliant the programming can be, they sure do make some epically dumb decisions.
This show was suppose to end when magic made his hiv announcement!! That’s how the show started!
I really hate HBO at this point… no more boxing. Canceling great shows. Deadwood, how to make it in America and now this?? Bullsh*t
Great points, I love that the show started with the HIV diagnosis and it was the perfect thing narratively to come full circle to. I still think HBO has the best content hands down, but I don’t love the people who are in the decision making positions. Zaslav, I’m talking to you.
And so is my subscription. Shit endings are their MO at this point
Yeah, speak with your wallet. If they see a major dip, they may pay attention.
The quality difference between season 1 and 2 are insane, drastically different in the way characters were given time, depth, and good writing to grow. It is also such a bummer almost bordering on the edge of disgrace that they glossed over 2 seasons of basketball that led to this team’s actual rise as a dynasty. The ending feels like the first half of rocky 3 just ended after rocky lost and that was it. In conclusion season 2 of this show covers time and concepts that could span across multiple seasons of this show.. Rushed is just a fragment of how to put it.
Yeah, you are right. I appreciate that we got what we got, but this series could have easily been 5 10 episode seasons.
HBO is amazing at cancelling good shows.
Sucks. Not even a Laker fan, but that was the best HBO show since GoT Season 4 or 5.
I agree it is top shelf. Did you not like House of The Dragon? 🐉 I thought it was pretty incredible.
FIRST ENTOURAGE, THEN BOARDWALK EMPIRE, NOW THIS....🤬
Rome only got 2 Seasons, Westworld ended at 4 and you can’t even watch it on HBO anymore. Ugh 😣
HBO is really stupid sometimes.
Yeah, the decision has definitely pissed a lot of people off 😤
That sucks, it's a great show!!!
No doubt. Total Bummer.
I hope someone picks thos show up….HBO messed up
Yeah they did. I know it’s a business, but they likely could have waited until the strikes are over to air it and would have had better results.
Didn’t watch because I wait till all episodes are available to watch that way I can binge watch it
Makes sense. There may be a good number of people who do that. I wish they would have waited to see this type of watch ratings trickle in.
Very disappointed 😢I loved this show. It was a classic 👌 indeed
Yeah, so disappointing.
It was a good show. I was loving it.
I know. It’s a damn shame!
“Winning time” ain’t winning enough people over
That is one part of the equation. I think if HBO had been a bit smarter they would have waited to air the show until the strikes were over, then they could have properly promoted it.