Ballers (2015)

Ballers is an American sports comedy-drama series created by Stephen Levinson that aired for five seasons on HBO from June 21, 2015, to October 13, 2019. It stars Dwayne Johnson as a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career as the financial manager of other NFL players.

Cast

Main

Dwayne Johnson as Spencer Strasmore, an NFL player who is forced into retirement due to injury and embarks upon a new career as the financial manager of other NFL players

Rob Corddry as Joe Krutel, a financial advisor at Anderson Financial who helps Spencer navigate his new life at the company

John David Washington as Ricky Jerret, a highly competitive and spiritual NFL player

Omar Miller as Charles Greane, an affable former NFL player who is searching for his next career

Donovan W. Carter as Vernon Littlefield, a deeply family-oriented defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys

Troy Garity as Jason Antolotti, a top-tier sports agent

London Brown as Reggie, Vernon's childhood friend who handles his money

Jazmyn Simon as Julie Greane, Charles' wife

Arielle Kebbel as Tracy Legette (season 2; recurring seasons 1 & 5), a sportscaster for a local TV station who is intimately involved with Spencer

Brittany S. Hall as Amber (seasons 4–5; recurring season 3), Ricky's past fling who later becomes his girlfriend and mother of his child

Recurring

Carl McDowell as TTD, Ricky's friend, confidant, and assistant

Dulé Hill as Larry Siefert, the GM for the Miami Dolphins

Christopher McDonald as "Boss Man", an owner of the Dallas Cowboys

Anabelle Acosta as Annabella Ruiz, Ricky's girlfriend

Taylor Cole as Stephanie Michaels, an ESPN sideline reporter who is romantically involved with Spencer

LeToya Luckett as Tina, the widow of one of Spencer's closest friends

Ella Thomas as Kara Cooley, Alonzo's mother and an interior decorator who is also involved with Ricky

Emayatzy Corinealdi as Candace Brewer, a high-powered sports executive who goes toe to toe with Spencer

Antoine Harris as Alonzo Cooley, Ricky's passive-aggressive teammate

Taylour Paige as Theresa, Julie's sister

Sanai L. Johnson as Bey, Theresa's daughter

Richard Schiff as Brett Anderson, the owner of Anderson Financial Management

Clifton Collins, Jr. as Maximo Gomez, Angela's lawyer

Angelina Assereto as Angela Lee, Maximo's client who was briefly involved with Spencer

Robert Wisdom as Dennis Jerret, Ricky's estranged father who was a tight end during the 1985 Chicago Bears season

Michael Cudlitz as Dan Balsamo, owner of Dan's Auto Collision and former Buffalo Bills running back who was injured by Spencer during a game

Christine Allocca as Kerri Balsamo, Dan's wife

Carmelo "Q" Oquendo as an NFL prospect

Stephanie Sandri as herself

Robert Crayton as Nick Kovack, a player cut from the team

Terrell Suggs as himself

Larry Csonka as himself

Jay Glazer as himself

Mark Schlereth as himself

Katelyn Tarver as Jesse

Serinda Swan as Chloe Day, a smart hotel management executive

Andy García as Andre Allen, a high-ranking money manager who has a feud with Spencer

Steve Guttenberg as Wayne Hastings Jr.

Lisa Arturo as Nancy

Peter Berg as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins

Kristopher Lofton as Kisan Teague, a talented NFL running back whose off-field antics and entourage keep getting him in trouble

Russell Brand as Lance Klians, the CEO of SportsX

Catherine Haena Kim as Kate, the creative director of SportsX and Joe's love interest

Amanda Rea as Donna, Jason's love interest and later fiancee

Athlete guest stars

Several of the athletes in the series are fictional. However, multiple real life athletes make appearances as themselves. Additionally, actor John Amos played a retired fictional player. Amos had a brief stint with the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s. Athletes who made appearances include:

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2016)

Season 3 (2017)

Season 4 (2018)

Season 5 (2019)

Ratings

Broadcast

The series premiered in the United States on HBO on June 21, 2015, in Canada on June 21, 2015 on HBO Canada, in India on June 22, 2015 on HBO Defined, in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2015 on Sky Atlantic, and in Australia on September 15, 2015 on Showcase.

The second season premiered on July 17, 2016 and a third on July 23, 2017. On August 8, 2017, HBO picked up Ballers for a fourth season, which premiered on August 12, 2018. On September 6, 2018, HBO renewed the series for a fifth season.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 81% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 6.43/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Ballers may not be a game-changer, but it scores points with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, who brings charm and depth to the NFL version of Entourage." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

On Rotten Tomatoes season 2 has a rating of 70% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.65/10. On Metacritic, the season has a score of 63 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has a rating of 67%, based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10.

Home media

The series has been released on Blu-ray and DVD; season 1 on June 14, 2016, Season 2 on January 31, 2017, Season 3 on April 3, 2018, and Season 4 on January 29, 2019. Season 5's DVD and manufacture on demand Blu-ray was released on January 28, 2020 by Warner Home Entertainment and Warner Archive Collection respectively. In addition, the complete series box set was released on DVD the same day. In the United States, the series was added on August 15, 2023 on Netflix.

References

External links

Official website

Ballers at IMDb

Ballers at TV Guide