The pilot, plus episodes 2, 5, 6, 9 and 10 were shot by DP Todd Banhazl with DP Mihai Mălaimare Jr. on episodes 3, 4, 7 and 8. Production took place under strict safety protocols in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, at landmark locations around Los Angeles and on interiors/exterior sets constructed at LA Center Studios and Santa Anita Race Track. These builds included the iconic façade of the LA Laker’s Forum stadium, and a replica basketball court.
“I am a fan of cultural stories and the Showtime era was part of a big cultural change in America, especially in terms of race relations and its depiction in pop culture,” says Banhazl, who had previously shot Hustlers (2019), with McKay working as a executive producer.
“When I heard that the pilot for Winning Time was happening, I reached out to Adam. We were both on the same page about it from our very first conversation, as we discussed creating an immersive collage of our collective American cultural memory, to tell this story of race, capitalism, class, gender and sports.
“We both knew and agreed that visually the show was best anchored on celluloid film, because of the way film can evoke a time period in itself, and how appropriate and interesting it could be to play with different formats of the time period and blur the line between what was actual archival and what we shot.”
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