October 29, 2021 (2021-10-29) – August 11, 2023 (2023-08-11)
Swagger is an American sports drama television series created by Reggie Rock Bythewood. Loosely inspired by the experiences of NBA player Kevin Durant,[1] the series premiered on October 29, 2021 on Apple TV+.[2] In June 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.[3] In November 2023, the series was canceled after two seasons.[4]
Swagger has garnered critical acclaim from critics for its writing, acting (primarily Jackson's and Hill's), production values and social commentary.
Premise
Swagger explores the world of youth basketball, and the players, their families and coaches who walk the fine line between dreams and ambition, and opportunism and corruption.[5]
Apple began developing the project in February 2018, and it was ordered in December 2018 as a sports drama television series titled Swagger from Kevin Durant and Reggie Rock Bythewood.[11][12] Bythewood will be the showrunner, writer, director, and executive producer with Durant, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Rich Kleiman, and Samantha Corbin Miller executive producing.[13] On June 15, 2022, Apple renewed the series for a second season.[3] On November 30, 2023, Apple announced that the series was canceled after two seasons.[4]
Casting
In October 2019, Deadline Hollywood reported that Winston Duke was cast as the lead, but in February 2020, Duke suffered an injury on set and was replaced with O’Shea Jackson Jr.[14][15] On July 9, 2020, Quvenzhané Wallis joined the series in the role of Crystal,[16] and on January 15, 2021, Isaiah Hill, Shinelle Azoroh, Tristan Mack Wilds, Caleel Harris, Tessa Ferrer, Jason Rivera, Solomon Irama, Ozie Nzeribe, and James Bingham were all revealed to have been cast.[1] On August 11, 2022, Orlando Jones and Shannon Brown joined the cast as series regulars, while Christina Jackson and Sean Baker were promoted to series regulars for the second season.[17]
Filming
Alongside the casting of Winston Duke, Deadline Hollywood reported that filming would occur in October 2019.[14] After Duke’s injury in February 2020, filming was delayed due to recasting, and was then delayed even further due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By December 2020, filming restarted in Richmond, Virginia, with filming also taking place in Hopewell, Virginia in March 2021.[18][19][20] In April 2021, filming wrapped for the series.[21]