When talking about the greatest sports documentaries of all time, there’s no denying 1994’s “Hoop Dreams” would rank very highly. Honestly, many would consider Steve James’ basketball film one of the best docs, period. So, there’s no questioning why Lena Waithe would find “Hoop Dreams” as a great inspiration for a new scripted series.
According to THR, as part of her overall deal with Warner Bros. TV, Lena Waithe is set to produce a new scripted series inspired by the documentary, “Hoop Dreams.” For those unaware, the doc follows the story of two young Black kids in Chicago who have big dreams of being basketball superstars. The scripted series will follow a similar story, retaining the 1990s time period, and follow the story of two young kids in Chicago who are basketball prodigies in an era where everyone is looking for the next Michael Jordan.
Waithe is no stranger to the world of prestige TV. Not only is she an Emmy winner for her work on the Netflix series, “Master of None,” where she also took the reins as the series’ star for the latest season, Waithe is also the creator of the acclaimed Showtime drama series, “The Chi,” which has finished four seasons and will return for a fifth.
Even though “Hoop Dreams” is being produced by Waithe as part of her deal with WBTV, it’s unclear where we might see the series get picked up, if it does move forward. Obviously, WBTV would probably love to keep the series in-house for either HBO or HBO Max, but it could end up anywhere.
You can watch the trailer for the doc below: