Winning Time series finale: Show EP on surprise ending

Last night, we all faced quite a shock as we learned that the Winning Time season 2 finale was the series finale, and that it has been canceled. Honestly, we’re still in recovery from that. This proved itself to be an absolutely fantastic product from start to finish and now, we have to face the fact that it’s over — and yes, that stinks.

Why in the world would HBO end a show about the Los Angeles Lakers by having them lose to the Boston Celtics? It goes without saying that this wasn’t the plan. However, executive producer Kevin Missick told Vulture that they knew for a while that it was possible season 2 would be the end, and they were at least given an opportunity to create a tacked-on ending just in case:

“[We learned about a possible cancellation] back in January while we were still in production … They said, ‘Think about it so that you have the option while you’re still in production to figure out how it might end if, sadly, that was the end of it.’ So we did get a chance to prepare, which we appreciated.”

Obviously, we think that Winning Time had a chance to go on for several more years, at least until Magic Johnson announced his HIV diagnosis to the public. Unfortunately, there’s just so much great content that we are not going to be seeing on-screen.

We hope that the cancellation here does not stop HBO or other networks from producing this sort of sports-themed scripted content in the future. We know that documentaries are incredibly popular right now and many of them are enjoyable; yet, they also have a point of view of their own at times, especially when the subject is involved. The dramatization format can be very-much engaging, at least so long as you go in acknowledging that there may be liberties here and there.

Related – Be sure to get some more news on Winning Time right now, including more reasons for the cancellation

Are you still sad that Winning Time was canceled after two seasons on HBO?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! Once you do just that, be sure to come back for some other updates.

(Photo: HBO.)