The NBA star and executive producer Kevin Durant, along with fellow execs Brian Grazer and Reggie Rock Bythewood, and writers and showrunners Isaiah Hill and O’Shea Jackson Jr., give an exclusive first look at Swagger Season 2 in a new feature posted on Matthew A. Cherry’s official Twitter page. Durant says at the beginning of the new feature that he had the concept for the series because he wanted to showcase some of the things he observed in the young basketball circuit, while Grazer calls the programme “a hybrid between Friday Night Lights and youth basketball.” Bythewood, who serves as showrunner, has emphasised that the programme is about more than basketball.
The production of the basketball games depicted in the programme was also examined, with the crew noting that real basketball players were used in the cast to give the games a more realistic feel and that there would be no commercial breaks between the player taking the shot and the basket is made. Police brutality and institutional racism against African-Americans are discussed in the context of the show. Specifically, Jackson Jr. said, “It’s unfortunate how many people are going to be linked to the harsh times that [they] depict in Swagger, but when you see anything that you have a connection to, that is when a work of art has the capacity to inspire.”
When the piece is over, Bythewood says that Swagger is “this is not a basketball-themed programme. Basketball serves as a metaphor for American life and culture in this drama about coming of age. All of us are searching for something more substantial than ourselves on this trip. As such, you might say that is Swagger’s guiding light on a spiritual level.” In Swagger, Hill plays Jace Carson, a young basketball player who is one of the best in the country. Jace enters a training programme created by Ike (Jackson Jr.), a former great player turned kids basketball coach, in order to increase his chances of making it to the NBA.
As Carson faces challenges on and off the court, including confronting a world that criticises individuals based on the colour of their skin, he and Chuck develop a strong friendship that transcends basketball. Besides the previously listed actors, Shinelle Azoroh, Caleel Harris, Solomon Irima, Ozie Nzeribe, Jason Rivera, and Tristan Mack also star in the show. Bythewood not only acts as the show’s creator, writer, and showrunner, but also as a director on many episodes and an executive producer with Durant, Grazer, and Rich Kleiman. Additional executive producers include Samie Kim Falvey, Francie Calfo, and Samantha Corbin-Miller. For Apple, the show was created by Durant’s 35 Ventures in collaboration with Imagine Television Studios, CBS Studios, and Undisputed Cinema.
Season 2 of Swagger will debut on Apple TV+, although there is no set premiere date as of yet.