Streaming service Apple TV+ offered a premiere date for its upcoming sports drama Swagger, loosely based on superstar NBA basketball player Kevin Durant’s early years in the sport he eventually came to dominate. It looks into the world of youth basketball and the lives it touches.
Creator and showrunner Reggie Rock Bythewood and producers Brian Grazer and NBA star Kevin Durant are behind the series. Apple TV+ commissioned it in 2018.
Swagger: inspired by Durant
Two-time NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant inspired the show, Apple TV+ said — especially his experiences growing up playing youth basketball.
The series explores the organization Durant came out of as a player, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). It examines the lives of players, families and coaches involved with the program.
The show stars O’Shea Jackson Jr., Isaiah Hill, Academy Award nominee Quvenzhané Wallis and Tessa Ferrer, among others.
Jackson plays Ike, a former star player who coaches youth basketball. Hill plays Jace, a phenomenal young player on the rise. Shinelle Azoroh (Don’t Let Go) plays Jenna, his mother, who is determined to get him to the NBA.
Premiere date and schedule
Apple said the show will premiere with three episodes airing on October 29. Then the rest of the 10-episode season will unfold weekly, airing Friday nights through December 17.
Durant himself is a producer on the show, in association with Brian Grazer from Ron Howard’s Imagine Television, CBS Studios and Undisputed Cinema. Bythewood will write and direct.
Swagger joins Apple TV+ slate of original shows, including the award-winning hit sports comedy Ted Lasso. It broke Apple TV+ viewing records, bringing in more viewers than any other TV series or movie so far.
Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app by subscription for $4.99 per month, with a seven-day free trial.
