LeBron James’ docu-series “Shut Up and Dribble” will premiere Saturday, Nov. 3, at 9 p.m. on Showtime, the network announced Tuesday. Additional episodes will air on Nov. 10 and 17.
Sports journalist and commentator Jemele Hill — who recently landed a gig over at the Atlantic after exiting ESPN — will narrate the series, which documents the changing role of NBA athletes in today’s political climate.
“Shut Up and Dribble” will be executive produced by James and his business partner Maverick Carter, under their SpringHill Productions banner. The series will be directed by Gotham Chopra, who knows a thing or two about athlete-driven documentaries, having directed Facebook’s Tom Brady docuseries “Tom vs Time” and “Kobe Bryant’s Muse” for Showtime.
Showtime describes the three-part series as “a powerful inside look at the changing role of athletes in our fraught cultural and political environment, through the lens of the NBA.”
You may recognize the series’ title from an exchange between James and Laura Ingraham, in which the Fox News host said on air that the NBA star should stay out of politics and “shut up and dribble.” That incident will serve as the prologue for the series as it chronicles the modern history of the NBA and its players, starting with the 1976 merger of the freewheeling ABA and the more conventional NBA of today.
Watch a clip from “Shut Up and Dribble” above.