Michael Jordan became one of the most in-demand names in the world of entertainment in May 2020 when his personal docu-series ‘The Last Dance’ received rave reviews, being nominated for multiple Emmys while attracting an audience outside just sports fans. As a result, many legendary players across sports have started looking at putting out more biopic-styled docuseries’ discussing their careers.
Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson is releasing his ‘They Call Me Magic‘ series on April 22nd on Apple TV+, almost exactly two years after Jordan released The Last Dance.
Johnson openly spoke about how his series was inspired by the success of The Last Dance in an interview with Variety. In addition, Johnson also decided to elaborate on what makes They Call Me Magic different from The Last Dance.
Official Trailer | The real story of basketball legend @MagicJohnson. #TheyCallMeMagic premieres April 22 on Apple TV+ https://t.co/R8KX7c4uot pic.twitter.com/k4TrBlyvvx
— Apple Original Films (@AppleFilms) March 12, 2022
“[My family] said, ‘What’s gonna be different from you and Michael Jordan’s [documentaries]?’” he continued. “And you can see. Michael — who I love, that’s my dear friend — but [‘The Last Dance’] was driven by his great accomplishments on the basketball court. [In ‘They Call Me Magic,’] you’re seeing my family, friends, everybody involved. You’re going to see every episode be a different journey in my life. That’s what makes me proud.” (h/t Variety)
Magic Johnson’s career is probably one of the greatest in NBA history. He won Finals MVP as a rookie in 1980 and went on to ammas 5 titles in his career, all with the Lakers. He was a generational point guard, creating the mold for players who are 6’7 and bigger to be excellent playmakers.
His career was cut short due to his diagnosis as HIV positive, after which Magic became a humanitarian and attempted a return to basketball. His life story is incredible and it will be extremely interesting to see how the series depicts Johnson and everything he went through.
