Following the success of Netflix’s Michael Jordan series, The Last Dance, Apple TV+ hopes to score a slam dunk of its own with an autobiographical look at the life and career of LA Lakers champion Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
The platform gave a preview of the four-part series They Call Me Magic at the South by Southwest Film Festival on Saturday, announcing a premiere date of April 22.
It is unclear if all the episodes will drop on Apple TV+ on the same day, or whether they will be available on a weekly basis.
The news follows this month's premiere of HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which charts the group's growth in the 1980s, a time during which Johnson (played by Quincy Isaiah) heavily featured. It is also streaming across the Mena region on OSN.
While Isiah is earning strong reviews for his part in Winning Time, They Call Me Magic is set to provide the most intimate portrayal of Johnson to date.
Not only has Johnson been interviewed for the project, but it also features unparalleled access to his family and business life, as well as never-seen-before footage of a sportsman at his prime.
Here are three more things to know about They Call Me Magic:
1. It has a magical guest list
The guest list includes a US president, actors, musicians and business leaders.
Former US president Barack Obama is featured in the trailer extolling Johnson’s social entrepreneurship, while rapper and hardcore Lakers fan Snoop Dogg praises the champion's encouragement to him to leave the streets and “live a different way”.
Other personalities interviewed for the documentary include rivals Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Shaquille O'Neal, as well as actor Samuel L Jackson.
2. We learn more about his HIV diagnosis
Johnson has opened up numerous times about how his HIV positive diagnosis forced him to retire from basketball 30 years ago at the age of 31.
They Call Me Magic promises to get deeper into the fateful day he learnt about his condition and the controversial decision to play on, despite his retirement, in the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics as part of the US basketball side dubbed the "Dream Team".
3. Magic’s success off the court
Johnson found as much success off the basketball court as on, as he also became a much-lauded businessman and social entrepreneur.
The documentary looks at some of his deals, including opening a chain of cinemas in crime-riddled communities in Los Angeles.
It also shows how Johnson met members of warring gangs for a breakfast meeting to ensure no customers were hurt entering the cinema.
Speaking of his wheeling and dealing, Johnson says: "If you don't make a difference in the black community, it doesn’t matter that you win championships.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems
Company%20Profile
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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