Posted in: Hulu, streaming, TV | Tagged: antoine fuqua, docuseries, hulu, Jeanie Buss, kobe bryant, Lakers, Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers, los angeles lakers

Legacy: Antoine Fuqua & Jeanie Buss Confirm Kobe Bryant Episode

Director Antoine Fuqua and Los Angeles Lakers CEO and executive producer Jeanie Buss are behind the 10-part Hulu docuseries Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers, which tells the story of one of professional sports' most successful franchises. The docuseries is one of several projects related to the franchise, which includes HBO's scripted drama Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty from Adam McKay and the Magic Johnson-centric docuseries on AppleTV+'s "They Call Me Magic." The HBO series, based on Jeff Pearlman's 2014 book "Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s", was criticized by franchise icons Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Johnson. Fuqua and Buss talked about the other projects and the various projects behind the basketball team.

"We are at a point in time where a lot of great players, like Magic, want to leave the legacy of their lives behind. (A legacy) that is told from their perspective," Fuqua told Variety. As far as what Buss thought of Winning Time, "That was entertainment that wasn't based on a lot of truth, but it was entertaining for some people. I think John C. Reilly playing Dr. Jerry Buss — he should have been nominated for an Emmy." The CEO also broke down how Legacy also offers a more comprehensive look at the franchise beyond the showtime era.

"This (series) tries to give context to the people who were behind some of these great Lakers' moments," Buss said. "While it does have a lot of Buss family information, it has a lot about our players and what they bring to the table, especially players that you don't hear a lot about. The Lakers had so much success in the eighties and then again 2000s, but the '90s was kind of a challenging time. I think fans will be happy to hear from Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones about what it was like to be part of the Lakers after Showtime ends." Fuqua also confirmed that the late NBC legend Kobe Bryant will be the focus of one of the episodes. And when asked if they had interviewed Bryant's widow or any members of Bryant's family, Fuqua responded, "We are in the process of those conversations right now." Buss added, "It's a very powerful discussion about the tragic loss of Kobe and Giana Bryant." For more on the scope of the project and what the audience will learn through watching the docuseries, comparing the Buss family to HBO's Succession, and more, you can check out the full interview here.

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