After months of negotiations, Amazon Prime Video has submitted a formal series order for The Greatesta scripted drama that follows the life of Muhammad Ali.
The estate of the former heavyweight boxing champion, who died in June 2016 after a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, has signed on for the series and will executive produce alongside the showrunner. Ben Watkins (Cross), Michael B. Jordan and Josh Wakelywho secured the rights to Ali’s life story and brought the project to Amazon.
Jaalen Bestwhose meager credits include episodes of All American: Homecoming, Magnum P.I. and American Horror Storieswill star in the pivotal role of Ali.
Jordan’s Outlier Society Productions, which has a first-look deal for film and TV with Amazon, will executive produce the series, as the actor and producer has an interest in boxing after starring in Creed and its sequels. Amazon MGM Studios, Watkins’ Blue Monday Productions, Authentic Studios, Roc Nation, Universal Music Group partner Polygram Entertainment, and Wakely’s Grace: A Storytelling Company are also producing.
What will The Greates, the series about Muhammad Ali, be about?
Originally conceived as a limited series, but later turned into an ongoing drama, The Greatest The film intimately explores the life of one of the world’s most famous athletes and the victories and defeats that made Ali a legend in and out of the ring. Amazon says the story is driven by all the moments that took place outside the spotlight and explores his life as a husband, father, brother and son.
The first season has as a subtitle I Shook Up the World and begins in 1960, when an 18-year-old boy named Cassius Clay wins the Olympic gold medal. The series is described as a coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of cultural shifts, the civil rights movement, and Ali’s own spiritual awakening.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
