Summary
Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers is a few episodes too many, but sports historians across the globe are in for a real treat with this series.
The LA Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in the history of sports. Hulu has brought a docuseries highlighting the franchise in Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers.
Out of the gate, the series started rough as the premiere episode was a complete disaster. After that, it was all systems go, leading to my being invested throughout each episode. I was blown away by how they not only got each of these players to talk about the franchise, but also how some of them were brutally honest about what happened. We had some guys lay it all out on the line and not even care. I ate up the drama through some of these episodes.
You could tell that writer Steven Leckart had a true passion for this team. He did a great job of unpacking so much of Jerry Buss and the LA Lakers’ history that made you appreciate the journey more. Another brilliant thing was how director Antonie Fuqua shot the pieces and how editor Jake Pushinsky put those pieces together. I would not be surprised if we see Pushinsky get nominated for his work next Emmy season.
I mention this often about docuseries, about how these streaming services need to put a cap on how many episodes there are, because they always seem to overstay their welcome. Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers suffers from the same thing. While each episode (after the first) provides some great content, this could’ve easily been narrowed down to 6-8 episodes and would’ve been equally effective. One day they will listen to me and I’ll be happy.
One of the more incredible things about this series is the age demographic will have so much to unpack while watching it. You will have the old heads talking about the things of the past and the new heads watching and learning about the history and vice versa. You don’t have to be a Lakers fan or even a fan of the NBA to enjoy this series. If you appreciate storytelling from the people that lived this story, you will like the show.
Overall, as I mentioned, the series overstays its welcome, but it helps that it is being released weekly vs. all at once. Because of this, Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers provides an in-depth look at one of the greatest sports franchises of all time.
