''Big Shot'' is an American

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series created by David E. Kelley, Dean Lorey and

Brad Garrett Brad H. Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Garrett was initially successful as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s. Taking advantage of that success in the la ...

for

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

starring

John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the ...

Jessalyn Gilsig Jessalyn Sarah Gilsig (born November 30, 1971) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Meredith Gordon in ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', Kayley in ''Quest for Camelot'', Lauren Davis in ''Boston Public'', Gina Russo in ...

, and

Yvette Nicole Brown Yvette Nicole Brown (born August 12, 1971) is an American actress. She starred as Shirley Bennett on the NBC sitcom ''Community'', as Dani in the 2015 reboot of '' The Odd Couple'' on CBS, and as Dina Rose on the ABC sitcom '' The Mayor''. Br ...

. The series premiered on April 16, 2021. In September 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 12, 2022. In February 2023, the series was cancelled after two seasons. The series was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023, amidst a Disney+ and

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

content removal purge as part of a broader cost cutting initiative under Disney CEO

Bob Iger Robert Alan Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American media executive who is chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company. He previously was the president of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) between 1994 and 1995 and p ...

, rendering it lost media by legal means.

Premise

The series follows Marvyn Korn, a temperamental basketball coach who is fired from his job at the University at Wisconsin and relocates to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to coach a girls' basketball team at Westbrook School, an elite girls' high school.

Cast and characters

Main

as Marvyn Korn, a temperamental basketball coach who coaches at Westbrook School for Girls in San Diego, California *

as Holly Barrett, the Westbrook Sirens' good natured down-to-earth assistant coach and a biology teacher at the school * Richard Robichaux as George Pappas (season 1), the school counselor at Westbrook School for Girls * Sophia Mitri Schloss as Emma Korn, Marvyn's teenage daughter * Nell Verlaque as Louise Gruzinsky, the Westbrook Sirens' star player and point guard. The school's gym was named after her family. * Tiana Le as Destiny Winters, the Westbrook Sirens' power forward. Because she lost her father several years ago, she forms a bond with Coach Korn. * Monique Green as Olive Cooper (season 1), a Westbrook Sirens player who is obsessed with using social media. She doesn't come from a wealthy family. * Tisha Eve Custodio as Carolyn "Mouse" Smith, a Westbrook Sirens' player who comes from a military background * Cricket Wampler as Samantha Finkman, the Westbrook Sirens' shooting guard *

as Sherilyn Thomas, the no-nonsense dean of Westbrook School for Girls * Sara Echeagaray as Ava (season 2), a former star volleyball player who comes to Westbrook after washing out of her sport in a manner similar to Coach Korn

Recurring

Toks Olagundoye Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke "Toks" Olagundoye (born 16 September 1975) is a Nigerian actress known for playing Jackie Joyner-Kersee on '' The Neighbors'', Hayley Shipton on ''Castle'' and Olivia Finch on ''Frasier''. She also voices Nanefu ...

as Terri Grint (season 1), a political science teacher at Westbrook School for Girls who values academics over sports * Emery Kelly as Dylan (season 1), Louise's best friend *

Darcy Rose Byrnes Darcy Rose Byrnes (born November 4, 1998) is an American and Irish actress, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her roles as Abby Newman on ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', Penny Scavo on ''Desperate H ...

as Harper Schapira, an intense journalist at the school, Miss Goodwyn's daughter, and Mouse's love interest * Dale Whibley as Lucas Gruzinsky, Louise's older brother and Emma's initial love interest * Kathleen Rose Perkins as Miss Goodwyn (season 1), the drama teacher and drama club advisor at Westbrook School for Girls and Harper's mother * Daisha Graf as Angel (season 1), Destiny's aunt who is secretly her biological mother * Damian Alonso as Jake Matthews (season 1), a Carlsbad Cobras player and Olive's love interest * Camryn Manheim as Coach McCarthy, the head coach of Westbrook Sirens' rival team Carlsbad Cobras * Keala Settle as Christina Winters (season 1), Destiny's mother who is actually her aunt * Charlie Hall as Nick Russo (season 2) Louise and Ava's love interest. His family went bankrupt due to the embezzling of Louise's father, Larry Gruzinski. * Samuel-Taylor as Trevor Thomas (season 2), Sherilyn's son and Destiny's love interest * Stony Blyden as Jackson Hoover (season 2), Emma's love interest, who turns out to be a bad influence as he constantly gets her into trouble for his actions

Special guest stars

Tony Kornheiser Anthony Irwin Kornheiser (; born July 13, 1948) is an American television sports talk show host and former Sports journalism, sportswriter and columnist. Kornheiser is best known for his endeavors in three forms of media: as a writer for ''The Wa ...

as himself (season 1) * Michael Wilbon as himself (season 1) * Stan Verrett as himself (season 2)

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2022)

Production

Development

In October 2019,

ordered a ten-episode hour-long comedy-drama based on an original idea by

, who pitched the idea to David E. Kelley and developed it along with Dean Lorey. The trio along with Bill D'Elia were to executive produce with

ABC Signature ABC Signature was a production arm of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio ...

acting as the Production house. Lorey was to write the script and D'Elia to direct the first episode. On September 2, 2021, Disney+ renewed the series for a second season. On February 17, 2023, Disney+ cancelled the series after two seasons.

Casting

With the announcement of the series in October 2019 it was revealed that

had been cast in the lead role. In late October, the casting of the series regulars were released, attaching

Shiri Appleby Shiri Appleby is an American actress and television director. She is best known for her leading roles as Liz Parker in the WB/ UPN science fiction drama series '' Roswell'' (1999–2002) and Rachel Goldberg in the Lifetime/Hulu drama series '' ...

as assistant coach and

as dean of the school, along with Richard Robichaux as George, Sophia Mitri Schloss as Emma, Nell Verlaque as Louise, Tiana Le as Destiny, Monique Green as Olive Cooper, Tisha Custodio as Carolyn "Mouse" Smith, and Cricket Wampler as Samantha Finkman. In late January 2020, it was revealed that

had replaced

as Holly to make the character a contemporary to Stamos' role. On November 19, 2020, Keala Settle and Emery Kelly were cast in recurring roles. On April 30, 2021, Camryn Manheim, Daisha Graf, and Dale Whibley were cast in recurring roles. On May 13, 2021, it was reported that

was set to recur while

Marla Gibbs Marla Gibbs (born Margaret Theresa Bradley; June 14, 1931) is an American actress, singer, comedian, writer, and television producer whose career spans seven decades. She is known for her role as George Jefferson's maid, Florence Johnston, on th ...

was cast to guest star. On August 15, 2022, Charlie Hall joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the second season.

Filming

Principal photography for ''Big Shot'' began in November 2019 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In March 2020, production was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Production for the series also shut down for a day in November after a COVID-19 test that resulted in being a negative, and for the rest of 2020 in December after a COVID-19 test that resulted in being a positive. Filming resumed in early January 2021, but was paused again at the end of the month after a second positive COVID-19 test. Filming then resumed two weeks later. Production for the second season began in early 2022.

Release

The series premiered on April 16, 2021, releasing weekly on Fridays. The second season was released on October 12, 2022.

Reception

Critical response

Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported an approval rating of 78% based on 23 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Big Shot'' struggles to find much new to say, but it boasts strong performances, a sweet disposition, and, with a little perseverance, could become a show worth rooting for."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

gave the series a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 11 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Jen Chaney of ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

'' appreciated the series for its depiction of a basketball team composed of female players instead of male players, stating it portrays some of the obstacles women can face in sport, and complimented the performances of the cast, especially John Stamos and Tiana Le's, while giving a positive take on the development of Stamos' character through his relationships. Daniel Fienberg of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' appreciated the show for its avoidance of easy punchlines by not providing clichés compared to some other sitcoms, praised the characterization and development of Stamos' character, while complimenting performances of the cast and the chemistry between the characters, but stated that the series does not develop some characters enough. Joel Keller of ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' * '' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machin ...

'' praised the performances of the cast, especially Stamos, stating the actor manages to provide the mannerisms of an intense coach, while saying that the series stays well written despite being predictable at times. Joyce Slaton of ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, praised the depiction of positive messages, such as perseverance and teamwork, and complimented the presence of positive role models, citing with John Stamos and Jessalyn Gilsi's characters for the advice and lessons they provide to other characters. Pradeep Menon of ''

Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...

'' rated the series 3 out of 5 stars, found the show refreshing for its quick resolution of dramatic moments, complimented the performances of the cast members, and appreciated the depiction of same-sex romance as regular relationships. Kristen Lopez of IndieWire gave the show a C+ rating, praised the performances of the cast members, especially Stamos, and complimented ''Big Shot'' for avoiding clichés, but found that the series does not develop some characters enough, while stating that the script sometimes feels old-fashioned.

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{Disney+ original ended series 2020s American comedy-drama television series 2020s American high school television series 2020s American sports television series 2020s American teen drama television series 2021 American television series debuts 2022 American television series endings 2020s American LGBTQ-related comedy television series American English-language television shows American sports comedy television series American sports drama television series American television series about teenagers Basketball television series Disney+ original programming Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television series by ABC Studios Television series created by David E. Kelley Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in San Diego 2020s American LGBTQ-related drama television series