Showtime developing basketball drama from Jeanie Buss, Phil Jackson

Is Phil Jackson looking to recreate all of the drama that he experienced with the Los Angeles Lakers on the small screen? Not necessarily, but he is at least now one of the people hard at work to develop a scripted drama series for Showtime all about the sport.

According to Deadline, Jackson, his longtime love (and Lakers executive) Jeanie Buss, current NBA coach Kurt Rambis, and writer / director Ron Shelton are going to team up to executive produce a potential project about the behind-the-scenes workings of a family-owned basketball franchise. Obviously, this is an example of drawing from experience above all else, but this could be an intriguing franchise for Showtime to pick up.

When you look at what is currently on the air, there is a hole when it comes to quality sports-themed programming. “Friday Night Lights” is gone, and there has never really been a basketball series done that is a strong, scripted drama. When you look at the sort of corruption and in-fighting that goes into something like running a franchise, there is clearly quite a bit of material to use here. The only question left will be if Showtime likes what they see, and then want to order it into a series. With “Dexter” ending this year and “The Borgias” being over, there are some holes that need to be filled on their schedule. Showtime does not pick up many original properties a year, though, and that is what makes this currently a toss-up despite the big names attached.

Of course, stay tuned: We’ll have some more news about this and other projects as they break. Do you think the idea is interesting in theory? Be sure to share below!

Photo: Showtime