Television series

Ballers

Name: Ballers
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Sports
Released: 2015
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, John David Washington, Rob Corddry, Omar Benson Miller, Troy Garity

A slick, sun-drenched HBO dramedy about NFL players and the ex-pros who manage their money, egos and eventual freefall. Dwayne Johnson anchors it as a retired baller turned financial advisor, part Entourage, part cautionary tale about what happens when the checks stop. Breezy, glossy, occasionally sharper than it lets on — good for poolside binge-watching, not deep reflection.

TVMaze rating

7.6

If you liked this

Entourage2004

Same producer DNA, same half-hour rhythm of wish-fulfillment and betrayal, just swap footballs for film scripts. If you like watching a charismatic guy navigate an industry full of leeches, this is the blueprint.

But The misogyny and shallowness have aged badly, and it's even less interested in consequences than Ballers is.

Friday Night Lights2006

The football drama with an actual soul. It cares about the sport, the town, the families, and the cost of glory in a way that makes Ballers look like a trailer for itself.

But It's earnest where Ballers is cynical — if you want cigars and yachts, this small-town sincerity might feel slow.

House of Lies2012no page yet

Same half-hour dramedy engine, different industry: management consulting instead of football. A charismatic lead hustling clients while his own life quietly falls apart.

But Don Cheadle's character is meaner and less likable than Spencer, and the show leans harder into cringe than comfort.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

North Dallas Forty1979

Same subject — the business chewing up players' bodies for profit — four decades earlier and with the gloss stripped away entirely.

The original warts-and-all football movie — players as disposable meat for team owners, pills instead of protein shakes, cynicism instead of Instagram. It did Ballers' premise first, and meaner.

But It's a bleak, R-rated seventies satire with none of the polish or optimism — a genuine gut-punch instead of a good time.

Ray Donovan2013

Another fixer keeping rich, reckless clients out of trouble while his own family implodes. Grittier and angrier than Ballers, but the same fundamental job description.

But It's a much heavier, more violent show — less pool parties, more existential dread.

Suits2011

Slick professionals in nice suits solving problems with charm and bravado, cutting corners along the way. Same glossy wish-fulfillment texture, just swap the NFL for a law firm.

But No sports at all, and the legal plots eventually get repetitive if you're only here for the vibe.

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty2022

HBO's other sports-empire dramedy — big personalities, big egos, big business, told with the same appetite for excess and self-mythology.

But The stylized editing and fourth-wall winks are a much bigger swing than anything Ballers attempts.

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty poster

Vinyl2016

Swap football for the record industry and you get the same story: an industry built on burnt-out bodies, bad deals, and men trying to stay relevant past their prime.

But It's messier and darker, and got cancelled after one season, so there's no satisfying arc.

All American2018

A younger, network-TV cousin — high school football as a ticket out, with all the family drama and hustle Ballers has, minus the R-rated trimmings.

But It's aimed at a teen audience, so the stakes and content feel considerably lower-wattage.

Kingdom2014no page yet

An underseen gem about an MMA gym — same themes of broken bodies, money trouble and surrogate family, but shot with much rawer, less glamorous honesty.

But It's a tougher, sadder watch with none of Ballers' comic relief, and it's harder to find streaming.

Undefeated2011

Strips Ballers' mentor-and-troubled-player dynamic down to its true, unscripted form — same emotional engine, zero fiction.

An Oscar-winning documentary about a struggling Memphis high school team and the volunteer coach trying to save them. Real mentorship, real stakes, no fictional gloss.

But It's a documentary with no stars and no swagger — a completely different register than Ballers' Miami sheen.

Concussion2015no page yet

Same league, same retired-player fallout Ballers treats as backstory, told here as the tragedy it actually is.

Will Smith plays the doctor who uncovered the NFL's brain-injury cover-up. It's the serious, furious drama sitting underneath every joke Ballers makes about retired players' health.

But It's a sober issue-drama, not a hangout show — nobody's having fun on a yacht in this one.