Just as it’s ramping up on HBO and entering its 4th week as a new series, the pay TV network has announced that Ballers will return for a second season in 2016. The series got off to a fast start with 8.9 million viewers watching the premiere on various HBO platforms either on TV, HBO Go or HBO Now. HBO says that is the most-watched premiere of a half-hour series since 2009.
Another 5.6 million watched the series premiere on Dwayne Johnson’s Facebook page.
Ballers which had plenty of publicity regarding its use of NFL teams and logos without the expressed written consent of the league, was able to parlay that advanced word into regular viewership for which HBO yearns.
Thanks to a strong cast which includes Johnson, Rob Corddry, John David Washington, Omar Miller, Donovan W. Carter, Troy Garity, London Brown and Jazmyn Simon, the show joins a returning slate of comedies including Veep, Girls, Silicon Valley and others.
Ballers has six more episodes before it ends its first season. The show is about the lives of current and retired football players with Johnson playing a former NFL linebacker trying to become a financial managers to current players.
The show has opened to mixed reviews, but that hasn’t stopped audiences from watching the series.
[HBO]
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About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.