Created by Reggie Rock Bythewood and inspired by Kevin Durant’s experiences on the AAU circuit, Swagger premiered its first season last October.
Jace’s story isn’t over. Apple TV+ announced Tuesday that it has renewed original drama series Swagger for a second season.
The series originally premiered with three episodes dropping to the streaming service on Oct. 29, 2021, with its 10-episode first season concluding in mid-December.
“I’m excited to share more of the beautifully complicated lives of these incredible characters,” said Reggie Rock Bythewood, Swagger‘s creator, director, executive producer, and showrunner. “In Season 2, they will search and discover what it means to be a champion on and off the court, and I’m grateful to Apple TV+ for the platform.”
Swagger is inspired by Kevin Durant‘s coming-of-age in the youth basketball circuit in the Washington, DC area. The two-time NBA champion serves as an executive producer alongside Rich Kleiman and Oscar and Emmy winner Brian Grazer.
The first season followed 14-year-old basketball prodigy Jace Carson (Isaiah Hill) shouldering NBA expectations. Ike “Icon” Edwards (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Jace’s coach, is zeroed in on making the budding phenom into the superstar player that he himself was once expected to become.
Shinelle Azoroh stars as Jenna Carson, Jace’s mom, while Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis portrays Crystal, Jace’s best friend. The ensemble cast also includes Caleel Harris, James Bingham, Solomon Irama, Ozie Nzeribe, Tessa Ferrer, Tristan Mack Wilds, and Jason Rivera. Together, they brought to life a world that jumped off the screen — as The Hollywood Reporter noted in its review upon the show’s premiere last fall:
“Though it’s set in a niche that’ll be foreign to most viewers — elite youth basketball in the Washington metropolitan area — creator Reggie Rock Bythewood constructs a world so richly realized that there’s no doubt in our minds it existed long before we were invited in, and will continue to exist long after we leave. Add vivid characters and sharp storytelling, and it takes only a few episodes for Swagger to establish itself as one of the best new series of the year.”
In the first season, the world of Swagger extended beyond Durant’s past experiences to reflect the current social and political climate in 2020, such as the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests, police brutality, and racial and social injustice.
“This was another opportunity to hold the mirror up to society,” Bythewood explained in a “Beyond the Court” video for Apple TV+ in December.
“The stuff that goes on in our everyday lives, we need to see — even though it’s a tough conversation to have,” Durant added.
Now, Swagger will continue to drive meaningful conversation for at least one more season as a disruptive sports drama rooted in so much more than basketball.
The Apple Original is produced by Durant and Kleiman’s Boardroom, Imagine Television Studios, CBS Studios, and Undisputed Cinema.
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