The thing that Swagger has got going for itself is its behind the scenes pedigree. Created by Reggie Rock Bythewood, the series also calls on his wife, Gina Prince-Bythewood (director of Netflix’s Old Guard) as a consulting producer, as well as executive producers Brian Grazer and Kevin Durant.
From those names alone, we know that Apple TV Plus’ latest offering is in good hands.
The Xs and Os
Swagger tells the story of Jace, a touted 14-year-old basketball player trying to make it to the NBA. To do this, he joins a new a new team, coached by a former youth player who never made it big. The first three episodes, which are out now, starts off with Jace trying to come to terms with the player he is, the player he wants to become, and the outside pressures of playing a sport followed by millions of people, all of whom have an opinion and aren’t afraid to share it. And Jace has to handle this while being a teenager.
Swagger feels a lot like the new Friday Night Lights. But more. This isn’t a high school drama wrapped up in Friday night football. Unlike Jason Street (natural star) or Tim Riggins (reluctant athlete), Jace wants to be the best, and he’s putting in the time. He is up at 5AM every day running and doing drills. He is driven. And he’s 14.
Based on basketball star Kevin Durant’s time growing up, the series really is a reflection of what it takes to play professional basketball. We don’t know if Jace will ever reach the heights he dreams of, but what Swagger does well is show the audience what it really costs to make it.
In the Paint
There are a lot of story threads here to keep an eye on. From the politics of trying to run a sporting programme, to the racial undertones and the threat of police violence, to sexual predation in sports, and even the impending COVID outbreak. Swagger does well to give all of its stories just enough attention without ever letting any one take over and become the central point of the series. That’s because the central point of the series is Jace, his ambition to be number 1, and the fact that he’s only 14.
I’m a casual observer of American sports. Maybe it’s because no one else in the world really plays the sports they do (American football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, stock car racing), but there is an inhuman, and in some ways inhumane, level of attention that the country places on their athletes. And Swagger really showcases that. Jace is constantly hounded on social media, with online keyboard warriors trying to take him down anytime he has a bad game, or raising him onto a pedestal after a good one. There were countless times throughout the first three episodes that I found myself wanting to scream at the show to just give this kid a break. The pressures of rankings, and sponsorships, and performing to a vocal, faceless, and demanding crowd on Twitter has to be too much to bear.
And yet none of it feels made up for TV. None of what Jace goes through on Swagger ever feels unreal. It’s all par for the course. Isaiah Hill’s Jace feels like someone who doesn’t just expect it, but knows what is expected of him. Jace never feels like he is unwilling to shoulder the burden of being a teenage phenom. And if you think calling a 14-year-old athlete a phenom is premature, think back to when Cristiano Ronaldo first broke big with Manchester United. Or when Kobe Bryant skipped college and went straight into the NBA after graduating high school. Both at 18 years old.
The Triangle Offense
Okay, now here’s the important bit. The basketball being played on Swagger is good. Nothing irks me more than an actor unable to play the sport he is supposedly so very good at (I’m looking at you Kuno Becker). And in Isaiah Hill, Swagger has got an actual ball player. In fact, all the players on Jace’s team, and all the other players they meet, are good ball players.
I’ve also never seen a basketball game shot the way Swagger shoots its games. The games never feel stilted or set up. The camera moves in and around the players as they run up and down the court, throwing up shots, or making dunks. The camera is very much an active participant in the games and not just standing on the sidelines looking in.
So I’ve just spent 700 words trying to tell you that Apple TV Plus’ new show is very good. It’s no Ted Lasso so you might need to be somewhat interested in the sport of basketball to truly get into it. And unlike Disney Plus’ Big Shot, Swagger is very much serious basketball TV.
Is this Apple TV Plus’ new hit? It probably won’t hit the zeitgeist heights of Ted Lasso (I mean, we’ve done three pieces on Ted Lasso), but with the new NBA season having just kicked off in mid-October, what better time to launch a series about a 14-year-old basketball phenom?
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