The Magic hour is here, and it's time to watch Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty online on HBO Max. HBO's latest drama is all about the rise of the basketball dynasty that just needed the right draft pick and the right mad man behind the team.
Date: Winning Time episode 1 airs in the U.S. today (March 6).
Time: 9 p.m. ET/PT
U.S.: Watch on HBO Max
U.K.: Coming to Sky Atlantic or Now at a later date
Canada: Watch on Crave
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty looks to be exactly what its name suggests, a drama that shows us what it was like behind the scenes of Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers. The series is based on Jeff Pearlman's book Showtime, a title it couldn't use for obvious reasons.
The story of these Lakers (from where we sit right now) looks like their success will be attributed to two people: Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) and Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (Quincy Isaiah). While Johnson was magic on the court, Buss, as depicted in the series, looks to have been the catalyst for change in the franchise that the team needed. Oh, and then there's also Jack McKinney (Tracy Letts), who provided the idea of "showtime" offense, the improvisational gameplay that helped the team become a dynasty.
Based on the trailer below, it looks like HBO pulled in a perfect cast including Adrien Brody as Patt Riley and Gaby Hoffmann as Claire Rothman (who ran the Lakers' venue). Even the minor roles have big names attached, as we'll see Michael Chiklis as Red Auerbach, as well as Gillian Jacobs, Mike Epps and Orlando Jones in other parts.
This series also looks like a welcome change of pace for director Adam McKay (Don't Look Up), who's focusing his talents on something less depressing than the end of the world or his previous subject from Vice, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
Check out the trailer below, and read on to see how to watch Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty online.
How to watch Winning Time online in the U.S.
In the U.S., Winning Time episode 1 arrives on Sunday (March 6) at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO Max, our pick for the best streaming service.
How to watch Winning Time online in Canada
Fortunately, our friends in Canada have a good situation with watching Winning Time (better than those in the U.K., at least). The VOD Crave platform will receive new episodes on the same date and time as episodes debut in the U.S..
Crave has a 7-day free trial. After that, the Movies + HBO package costs $19.98 CAD per month.
How to watch Winning Time online in the UK
There's good news and bad news. First off, Winning Time has been announced for Sky Atlantic and the Now streaming service.
Unfortunately, no release date has been provided at this time.
A Now Entertainment subscription costs £9.99/month, but there's a 7-day free trial if you want to give it a go. Plus, you can pay an extra £5 per month for the Boost add-on that gives you up to 3 simultaneous streams in Full HD, and removes ads from much of the content.
If you're an American traveling abroad and want to use your HBO Max subscription, you'll need to look into the best VPN services.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty episodes
The 10 episode run of Winning Time debuts on Sunday, March 6. The next nine episodes debut weekly as follows:
- Winning Time episode 1: March 6
- Winning Time episode 2: March 13
- Winning Time episode 3: March 20
- Winning Time episode 4: March 27
- Winning Time episode 5: April 3
- Winning Time episode 6: April 10
- Winning Time episode 7: April 17
- Winning Time episode 8: April 24
- Winning Time episode 9: May 1
- Winning Time episode 10: May 8
