Exclusive: Scott Koondel’s Sox Entertainment has partnered with Jon Shapiro’s Ideal Entertainment to co-produce Big Men, a limited series docudrama about the NBA and its stars’ important roles in the civil rights movement.
Created by screenwriter Marc Cotter and Joe Bilella, Big Men captures the struggles and strides of the civil rights movement through the lens of two NBA icons, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. Their on-court rivalry played a pivotal role in lifting a fledgeling league into a national phenomenon only to be matched by their teamwork off the court in their fight against racial adversity to bridge a segregated America. The series’ narrative will also include the women who influenced them and highlight other Big Men who joined their ranks — including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Muhammad Ali — to change basketball and advance social justice.
The series is envisioned as telling the story over 16 episodes in two seasons.
Created by screenwriter Marc Cotter and Joe Bilella, Big Men captures the struggles and strides of the civil rights movement through the lens of two NBA icons, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. Their on-court rivalry played a pivotal role in lifting a fledgeling league into a national phenomenon only to be matched by their teamwork off the court in their fight against racial adversity to bridge a segregated America. The series’ narrative will also include the women who influenced them and highlight other Big Men who joined their ranks — including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Muhammad Ali — to change basketball and advance social justice.
The series is envisioned as telling the story over 16 episodes in two seasons.
- 12/14/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
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