It must be the magic hour.

Apple TV Plus on Friday released the first official trailer for its four-part documentary They Call Me Magic, just ahead of the docuseries’ debut at SXSW in Austin. The series, which looks into the life and career of iconic Los Angeles Lakers player Earvin “Magic” Johnson, makes its global debut on Friday, April 22 on Apple TV Plus. It chronicles Johnson’s rise from acclaimed high school basketball player from Michigan to star player for the Los Angeles Lakers with five championship rings, from HIV victim to survivor, to finally what he is today: ultra-successful businessman who seeks to lift the black community.

“If you don’t make a difference in the black community, it doesn’t matter that you’ve won a championship,” Johnson says in the trailer.

The docuseries arrives on the heels of HBO’s fictionalized version of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Magic era, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which premiered on March 6, 2022.

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Besides Johnson, the docuseries features interviews with his family as well as Larry Bird, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neill, President Barack Obama, Fred Stabley Jr., Dwayne Wade, Jerry West, Michael Wilbon and more.

They Call Me Magic is directed by Rick Famuyiwa with editor Dirk Westervelt and cinematographer Rachel Morrison. It’s produced for Apple by XTR and New Slate Ventures, and produced in association with H.Wood Media and Delirio Films.

Tags: apple tv plus magic johnson they call me magic


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