EXCLUSIVE: Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson will spring from the start blocks on March 26 on GameTV and Paramount+ in Canada a day later (March 27). You can watch a trailer for the six-part show above.
The satirical sports comedy series is starring Shamier Anderson as controversial sprinter Ben Johnson, who won gold at the 1988 Olympic Games in what became known as “the dirtiest race in history” before he was caught in a doping scandal and disqualified.
The first two episodes will debut on March 26 on GameTV, the English-language Canadian speciality channel owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, before Paramount+ gets them a day later. Two episodes will roll out weekly thereafter.
Billed as “equal parts absurdist comedy and cultural critique,” it comes from Shelved and Run the Burbs showrunner Anthony Q. Farrell and is directed by R.T. Thorne (The Porter) and Cory Bowles (Trailer Park Boys). Letterkenny and Shoresy producer New Metric Media is producing in association with Anderson’s Bay Mills Studios.
The series is set against the backdrop of the 1988 Games and the doping scandal that dominated global headlines, with producers saying it “gleefully blurs the line between fact, fiction, and fever dream as Johnson self-funds a documentary to ‘set the record straight,’ pulling viewers into a world of ethically questionable coaching, performance-enhancing coverups, and misguided redemption.”
The 29-second trailer begins with Johnson screaming as he receives a injection of a unknown substance before we see pair of commentators at the 100m final race, one shouting, “Ben Johnson has delivered!” and the other retorting, “Who is f*ck is Ben Johnson?”
Starring alongside Anderson, is Andrew ‘King Bach’ Bachelor (Greenland, The Babysitter), who plays Johnson’s American competitor Carl Lewis. The ensemble cast also includes Karen Robinson (Schitt’s Creek), Mark McKinney (Kids in the Hall, Superstore), Ennis Esmer (Blindspot), Malaika Hennie Hamadi (Bria Mack Gets A Life) and Kristian Bruun (The Recruit, Orphan Black).
Rounding out the supporting cast are Ryan Belleville (Workin’ Moms), Darryl Hinds (Second City), Lisa Horner (Kim’s Convenience), Emma Hunter (Mr. D, Letterkenny), Suresh John (Mr. D, Last Frontier), Jonathan Langdon (Trap), Gita Miller (Workin’ Moms), Andrew Phung (Kim’s Convenience), Dewshane Williams (Hello Tomorrow), Leslie Adlam (Bria Mack Gets A Life) and Arnold Pinnock (Plan B), with cameos from the likes of WWE star Chelsea Green, Canadian NASCAR driver Amber Balcaen and Canadian figure skating champion Elvis Stojko.
Exec producers on the show are Mark Montefiore, CEO of New Metric, director Thorne, and Bay Mills founders Anderson and Stephan James. Lana Maclin and Max Wolfond serve as producer and supervising producer, respectively, for New Metric, which is also handling international sales and began shopping the show at MIPCOM last year.
English (US) ·