Lakers HBO Series That Resulted in Feud Between Adam McKay and Will Ferrell Debuts First Look

HBO Max has unveiled the first look at their upcoming Lakers biopic series, Winning Time: The Rise and Fall of the Lakers Dynasty. But as glossy as the sports series appears, there’s still a dark backstory lingering beneath the show. That’s because Adam McKay, who directed the pilot and executive produced the project, had a bit of a misfire while casting the highly-anticipated series, resulting in a massive falling out between him and collaborator Will Ferrell. Still — we’re going to get this buzzy sports drama, whether Ferrell likes it or not!

Based on Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, Winning Time will star John C. Reilly as legendary coach Jerry Buss. Per HBO Max, the series will chronicle “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.”

Along with Reilly, the cast includes Quincy Isaiah, Jason Clarke, Adrien Brody, Gaby Hoffman, Tracy Letts, Jason Segel, Julianne Nicholson, Hadley Robinson, Dr. Solomon Hughes, Tamera Tomakili, Brett Cullen, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Joey Brooks, Sarah Ramos, Spencer Garrett, Molly Gordon, DeVaughn Nixon, Delante Desouza, Jimel Atkins, Austin Aaron, Jon Young with Rob Morgan and Sally Field.

Originally, Ferrell was set to star as the lead, Buss, in the series. But McKay quickly realized he had made a casting mistake, and opted to switch Reilly into the role — without telling Ferrell. This resulted in a feud between the comedic creators. To this day, the pair still aren’t talking over the discrepancy.

“In my head, I was like, ‘We’ll let all this blow over. Six months to a year, we’ll sit down, we’ll laugh about it and go, It’s all business junk, who gives a shit? We worked together for 25 years. Are we really going to let this go away?’” McKay recalls. But, he continued, Ferrell “took it as a way deeper hurt than” he “ever imagined.”

Scroll up to watch the first trailer for Winning Time: The Rise and Fall of the Lakers Dynasty in the clip above. The new series will debut in March 2022.