Ballers Explained

Creator:	Stephen Levinson
Opentheme:	"Right Above It" by Lil Wayne featuring Drake
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Num Seasons:	5
Num Episodes:	47
Camera:	Single
Runtime:	27 minutes
Channel:	HBO

Ballers is an American sports comedy-drama series created by Stephen Levinson that aired for five seasons on HBO from June 21, 2015, to October 13, 2019.^[1] It stars Dwayne Johnson as a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career as the financial manager of other NFL players.^[2]

Cast

Main

• Dwayne Johnson as Spencer Strasmore, an NFL player who is forced into retirement due to injury and embarks upon a new career as the financial manager of other NFL players^[3]
• Rob Corddry as Joe Krutel, a financial advisor at Anderson Financial who helps Spencer navigate his new life at the company
• John David Washington as Ricky Jerret, a highly competitive and spiritual NFL player
• Omar Miller as Charles Greane, an affable former NFL player who is searching for his next career
• Donovan W. Carter as Vernon Littlefield, a deeply family-oriented defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys
• Troy Garity as Jason Antolotti, a top-tier sports agent
• London Brown as Reggie, Vernon's childhood friend who handles his money
• Jazmyn Simon as Julie Greane, Charles' wife
• Arielle Kebbel as Tracy Legette, a sportscaster for a local TV station who is intimately involved with Spencer^[4]
• Brittany S. Hall as Amber, Ricky's past fling who later becomes his girlfriend and mother of his child

Recurring

• Carl McDowell as TTD, Ricky's friend, confidant, and assistant
• Dulé Hill as Larry Siefert, the GM for the Miami Dolphins
• Christopher McDonald as "Boss Man", an owner of the Dallas Cowboys
• Anabelle Acosta as Annabella Ruiz, Ricky's girlfriend
• Taylor Cole as Stephanie Michaels, an ESPN sideline reporter who is romantically involved with Spencer
• LeToya Luckett as Tina, the widow of one of Spencer's closest friends
• Ella Thomas as Kara Cooley, Alonzo's mother and an interior decorator who is also involved with Ricky
• Emayatzy Corinealdi as Candace Brewer, a high-powered sports executive who goes toe to toe with Spencer
• Antoine Harris as Alonzo Cooley, Ricky's passive-aggressive teammate
• Taylour Paige as Theresa, Julie's sister
• Sanai L. Johnson as Bey, Theresa's daughter
• Richard Schiff as Brett Anderson, the owner of Anderson Financial Management
• Clifton Collins, Jr. as Maximo Gomez, Angela's lawyer
• Angelina Assereto as Angela Lee, Maximo's client who was briefly involved with Spencer
• Robert Wisdom as Dennis Jerret, Ricky's estranged father who was a tight end during the 1985 Chicago Bears season
• Michael Cudlitz as Dan Balsamo, owner of Dan's Auto Collision and former Buffalo Bills running back who was injured by Spencer during a game
• Christine Allocca as Kerri Balsamo, Dan's wife
• Carmelo "Q" Oquendo as an NFL prospect
• Stephanie Sandri as herself
• Robert Crayton as Nick Kovack, a player cut from the team
• Terrell Suggs as himself
• Larry Csonka as himself
• Jay Glazer as himself
• Mark Schlereth as himself
• Serinda Swan as Chloe Day, a smart hotel management executive^[5]
• Andy García as Andre Allen, a high-ranking money manager who has a feud with Spencer
• Steve Guttenberg as Wayne Hastings Jr.
• Lisa Arturo as Nancy^[6]
• Peter Berg as a fictional version of himself
• Kristopher Lofton as Kisan Teague, a talented NFL running back whose off-field antics and entourage keep getting him in trouble
• Russell Brand as Lance Klians, the CEO of SportsX
• Catherine Haena Kim as Kate, the creative director of SportsX and Joe's love interest
• Amanda Rea as Donna, Jason's love interest and later fiancee

Athlete guest stars

Several of the athletes in the series are fictional. However, multiple real life athletes make appearances as themselves. Additionally, actor John Amos played a retired fictional player. Amos had a brief stint with the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s. Athletes who made appearances include:

• Stephen Curry
• Antonio Brown
• Alvin Kamara
• Von Miller
• Julian Edelman
• DeSean Jackson
• Jarvis Landry
• Jason Taylor
• Ndamukong Suh
• Eddie George
• Giancarlo Stanton
• Caroline Wozniacki
• Khalil Mack
• Danny Amendola
• Jared Goff
• Wes Welker
• Jeremy Shockey
• Odell Beckham Jr.
• Kelly Slater
• Tony Hawk
• Randy Couture
• Melvin Gordon
• DeAndre Hopkins
• Steven Jackson
• Dannell Ellerbe
• Rashard Mendenhall (also wrote 3 episodes)
• Jared Odrick
• Jon Beason
• Eric Hosmer
• LaMarr Woodley
• Victor Cruz
• Jason Pierre-Paul
• Chris Long
• Duke Johnson
• NaVorro Bowman
• Laquon Treadwell
• Vonn Bell
• Cris Carter
• Tim Brown
• Kemba Walker
• Nick Diaz
• Marcellus Wiley
• Calais Campbell
• Rodney Peete
• Rick Fox
• Dante Fowler
• Derwin James
• Malcolm Jenkins

Episodes

Season 5 (2019)

Broadcast

The series premiered in the U.S. on HBO on June 21, 2015,^[7] in Canada on June 21, 2015 on HBO Canada, in India on June 22, 2015 on HBO Defined,^[8] in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2015 on Sky Atlantic,^[9] and in Australia on September 15, 2015 on Showcase.^[10]

The second season premiered on July 17, 2016 and a third on July 23, 2017.^{[11] [12]} On August 8, 2017, HBO picked up Ballers for a fourth season, which premiered on August 12, 2018.^[13] On September 6, 2018, HBO renewed the series for a fifth season.^[14]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 81% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 6.43/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Ballers may not be a game-changer, but it scores points with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, who brings charm and depth to the NFL version of Entourage."^[15] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[16]

On Rotten Tomatoes season 2 has a rating of 70% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.65/10.^[17] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 63 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[18]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has a rating of 67%, based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10.

Home media

The series has been released on Blu-ray and DVD; season 1 on June 14, 2016, Season 2 on January 31, 2017, Season 3 on April 3, 2018, and Season 4 on January 29, 2019.^[19] Season 5's DVD and manufacture on demand Blu-ray was released on January 28, 2020 by Warner Home Entertainment and Warner Archive Collection respectively.^{[20] [21]} In addition, the complete series box set was released on DVD the same day.^[22] In the United States, the series was added on August 15, 2023 on Netflix.^{[23] [24]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: 'Ballers' Season 5: Teaser Trailer, Premiere Date Revealed for Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's HBO Show. populture.com. John Connor. Coulston. July 28, 2019. August 22, 2019.
2. Web site: About - Ballers. Starz. July 8, 2015. September 23, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170923172616/http://www.hbo.com/ballers/about/index.html. live.
3. News: Andreeva. Nellie. Dwayne Johnson's HBO Half-Hour Pilot 'Ballers' Picked Up To Series. February 19, 2014. Deadline Hollywood. February 13, 2014.
4. Web site: Woman Crush Wednesday: Arielle Kebbel Plays A Badass Sportscaster On 'Ballers'. 24 June 2015. Decider - Where To Stream Movies & Shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, HBO Go. 6 July 2015. 26 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181026104524/https://decider.com/2015/06/24/woman-crush-wednesday-arielle-kebbel-ballers/. live.
5. Web site: Petski. Denise. 'Ballers': Serinda Swan Set To Recur On Dwayne Johnson HBO Comedy. Deadline Hollywood. 30 January 2017 . January 30, 2017. November 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115024833/https://deadline.com/2017/01/ballers-serinda-swan-recur-dwayne-johnson-hbo-comedy-1201897821/. live.
6. Web site: Lisa Arturo. IMDb. 2019-01-27. 2020-11-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115024819/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0037970/. live.
7. Web site: Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Detective' Wins Night, 'Ballers', 'Naked and Afraid', 'The Last Ship' & More . https://web.archive.org/web/20150623231226/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/06/23/sunday-cable-ratings-true-detective-wins-night-ballers-naked-and-afraid-the-last-ship-more/420864/ . dead . June 23, 2015 . TV by the Numbers . Sara . Bibel . June 23, 2015 . June 23, 2015.
8. Web site: HBO Defined brings two new comedy series . Indian Television Dot Com . 22 April 2021 . en . 18 June 2015.
9. Web site: About Ballers . 2015-09-05 .
10. Web site: TV Tonight. David. Knox. Airdate: Ballers . 27 August 2015. 27 August 2015.
11. News: Fowler. Matt. Ballers Renewed for Season 2. July 10, 2015. IGN. July 10, 2015.
12. News: Roots. Kimberly. Ballers Renewed for Season 3 at HBO. August 1, 2016. TVLine. July 28, 2016.
13. News: Petski. Denise. 'Insecure' & 'Ballers' Renewed By HBO. August 9, 2017 . Deadline Hollywood . August 8, 2017.
14. Web site: Insecure Renewed for Season 4 at HBO. Schwartz. Ryan. TVLine. September 6, 2018. September 6, 2018.
15. Web site: Ballers (2015) . Rotten Tomatoes . August 30, 2015.
16. Web site: Ballers: Season 1 reviews . Metacritic . May 2, 2019 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115024850/https://www.metacritic.com/tv/ballers-2015 . live .
17. Web site: Ballers (2015) . Rotten Tomatoes . September 18, 2016.
18. Web site: Ballers: Season 2 reviews . Metacritic . July 27, 2016.
19. Web site: Ballers DVD Release Date. DVDs Release Dates. en-US. 2018-11-28. 2020-11-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115024852/https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/7505/ballers. live.
20. Web site: Ballers: The Complete Fifth Season. DeepDiscount.com. December 19, 2019. November 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115024852/https://www.deepdiscount.com/ballers-the-complete-fifth-season/883929703166. live.
21. Web site: Warner Archive Announces January Releases. Blu-ray.com. December 17, 2019. December 19, 2019. November 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115024854/https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=26167. live.
22. Web site: Ballers: The Complete Series (DVD). DeepDiscount.com. December 19, 2019. November 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115024855/https://www.deepdiscount.com/ballers-the-complete-series/883929705870. live.
23. Web site: Lewis. Hilary. Netflix's New Releases Coming in August 2023. The Hollywood Reporter. August 14, 2023. October 1, 2023.
24. Web site: Rivera. Joshua. Ballers is on Netflix, it is time for you to become one with Ballers. Polygon. August 17, 2023. October 1, 2023.