Professional sports are chock full of drama, and it's not just contained to the playing surfaces. Obviously, the contests themselves provide excitement for the fans and are still the main attraction but the behind the scenes dealings also provide more than their fare share of compelling story lines. From the million dollar deals to the sports celebrities' personal problems (to put it delicately) there's seemingly an endless amount of fodder for sports entertainment networks, as well as celebrity gossip shows, to report to the fan(atic)s.
HBO has recognized the potent mix of conflict and celebrity that professional sports-based reality shows (like 24/7 and Hard Knocks) for years but now there are taking it a step further by purchasing Gavin Polone and Jeff Nathanson's still untitled pitch to dramatize the world of pro basketball. Deadline reports that the producer, Polone, and writer, Nathanson, have teamed up for a one-hour dramedy about a professional basketball team that takes an 'unflinching' look at "the money, sex, power and temptation that consumes the wild lives of millionaire players and billionaire owners."
Sports are definitely a great setting for a dramatic and/or comedic series (in this case both), especially at a network like HBO where the creators have the freedom to fully explore the unique sub category of celebrity. Polone has a lot of great credits to his name but his most important (and reassuring) has to be serving as a producer on Larry David's amazing HBO cringe-comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm. Just knowing that he had even a small hand in the "Shaq" episode makes me believe this series could actually fly. Nathanson has one great film under his belt, writing Catch Me If You Can for Steven Spielberg, but after penning a string of bad Brett Ratner movies I can't say the same optimism afforded Polone extends to the writer. What do you think of the pro sports based pilot?
