The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Basketball star teams with Apple to show his ‘Swagger’
Tech giant to develop series based on Kevin Durant’s childhood
Basketball superstar Kevin Durant is heading from shooting hoops at to shooting a dramatic series with some big Hollywood and Silicon Valley names.
The Golden State Warriors star is teaming up with Apple to create a new scripted television show based on Durant’s childhood in Washington, D.C. Titled “Swagger,” the show explores the world of Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball in Washington and how the young players and their families and coaches navigate through obstacles to help the players reach the NBA.
Apple is developing “Swagger” with Thirty Five Media — Durant’s new media company — and Imagine Television, led by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard as its producers. The show will be directed and written by Reggie Rock Bythewood, who last year directed a Fox television series, “Shots Fired.”
“So excited to partner with Imagine and Apple on this series … much more to come,” tweeted Durant.
For Apple and Durant, “Swagger” represents their respective forays into the entertainment industry.
Apple has been expanding its catalog of future television shows produced and directed by Hollywood stars, such as Jennifer Aniston, Steven Spielberg and Bryan Cranston. Apple has planned to spend more than $1 billion in original programming, available only through its Apple Music service, to help compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime.
So far, Apple has slated a morning-show drama starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston; a comedy show starring former “Saturday Night Live” star Kristen Wiig; and a space drama from Ronald Moore, who wrote episodes for the “Star Trek” television series in the 1990s and a “Battlestar Galactica” reboot in 2004, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It has not been entirely smooth sailing for Apple, however. Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories” reboot on Apple hit an obstacle after showrunner Bryan Fuller and producer Hart Hanson dropped out of the project, citing creative differences earlier this month, according to The Hollywood Reporter.