Hulu 'Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers' Review: Antoine Fuqua docu promises, but offers nothing new
Apart from the scanty segments that promise, Hulu's latest on the Purple & Gold, 'Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers' doesn't offer much in terms of novelty. Or at least the first two episodes don't. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls had a story to tell the new generation on Netflix and ESPN's 'The Last Dance'. The Lakers were the second NBA franchise to come up with equally exhilarating content with HBO's 'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty'. This was followed by Apple TV+'s 'They Call Me Magic' and all that the Hulu season opener had to offer was already well-documented.
Antoine Fuqua’s 10-part documentary makes sure that the title is going to be about the Lakers' legacy that's rich and decorated, making them one of the more influential NBA teams of all time. Be it Magic Johnson, the chutzpah man Jerry Buss, or the more Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James generation that followed, Fuqua believes this is a team for the ages, and every season sees the franchise leave a legacy behind. And on that note, the "true" part in the title is maybe a subtle dig at HBO. Or not, but what it does is focus on telling a story that's void of creativity.
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What makes the docu special is that the Buss family is intense and actively involved. All siblings — Jeanie, Johnny, Jimmy, Joey, Janie, and Jesse get ample screentime as they relive their early memories of their father and how he went about building the Lakers dynasty. The hour-long premiere is perfect when it explores the tensions of the Buss family and their private lives now being made public one frame at a time, but sadly, 'Winning Time' beats it in terms of the action and comic timing. The first couple of episodes is all about Jerry back from the great beyond in the form of archival footage.
Quite simply, it's the same story. Buss and his playboy lifestyle, his 'Showtime' saga, and the franchise's bitter rivalry with the Boston Celtics. The muscle needles vary from Roger Troutman to Will Smith's instrumental of 'Gettin' Jiggy Wit It', but uh-uh, nothing new to see in the first two. However, Lakers fans will be optimistic that 'Legacy' will get interesting when the show focuses on the post-Kobe era. While they did win the championship in the pandemic-riddled 2020 season, they failed to repeat that feat for the next two seasons.
For now, that's what might give the ardents the feeling of giving 'Legacy' another shot next week. Maybe there's more to it than just the bland first couple of chapters. It's hard to not start off with Buss who was an icon in his own right, but it comes at the cost of being repetitive content. Can Hulu and 'Legacy' do better? Only time will tell.
'Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers' drops with a new episode every Monday.