The Shop
| The Shop | |
|---|---|
 Governor Gavin Newsom on The Shop with LeBron James and Maverick Carter in 2019 | |
| Genre | Talk show |
| Created by | Paul Rivera |
| Starring | LeBron James Maverick Carter |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Frehand |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | August 28, 2018 – present |
The Shop: Uninterrupted, or simply The Shop, is an American television talk show created by Paul Rivera. It stars professional basketball star LeBron James and businessman Maverick Carter, who alongside guests have conversations and debates in a barbershop. The series premiered on HBO in the United States on August 28, 2018.[1] On February 28, 2022, the series was renewed for a fifth season and moved to YouTube.[2] In 2021, the series won a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Edited Sports Series.
Production
[edit]Conception and development for Uninterrupted
[edit]
James spoke on how The Shop became an idea saying, "when I was a kid, being in barbershops meant listening to adults talk about sports, clothing, politics, music, everything happened in the shop. It was so real and so candid—no one had a sense of, well I can't be myself here."[3] Randy Mims and Paul Rivera, both business partners of James' and Carter's, first proposed The Shop.[3]
In February 2016, during the NBA's All-Star Weekend, the first iteration of The Shop was filmed in a Toronto-based barbershop for the Uninterrupted website.[3] The following year, another episode of The Shop was filmed in a New Orleans–based barbershop.[4] James and Carter were joined by Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green, Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz, Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams, former New York Knicks All-Star Charles Oakley, and businessman Steve Stoute.[4] Stoute moderated the group's discussion, which notably generated James detailing how his mother did not want him to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014.[4][5] The filming premiered on the Uninterrupted platform on June 9, 2017, coinciding with Game 4 of the NBA Finals between James' Cavaliers and Green's Warriors.[5] The New Orleans episode was optioned by ESPN as a one-off.[3]
HBO iteration
[edit]Following the New Orleans episode, talks with HBO began in earnest.[3] HBO then ordered a handful of episodes of The Shop, with the episode order being left vague due to James' primary focus on his basketball career.[3] The deal with HBO did not include airing the Toronto or New Orleans episodes; the first episode for HBO was filmed in West Hollywood's Barber Surgeons Guild, in July 2018.[3][6] The episode guest starred New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., rapper Snoop Dogg, Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker, comedian Jon Stewart, New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, and Green, alongside James and Carter.[3] The episode premiered on HBO on August 28.[1] Further episodes aired later throughout the year.[7] The second episode was filmed in a Washington, D.C. hair salon, which houses a separate cuttery.[8] This episode is notable for the guest appearance from rapper Drake, who spoke on the personal troubles between him and fellow musician Kanye West. Drake was honest and offered insight to the fight that normally would not have been made known.[9] The third and fourth episodes were also filmed in Los Angeles,[10] with the latter notable for wide receiver Antonio Brown publicly musing on his dissatisfaction with his role on the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as with his heated relationship with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.[11]
The second season of The Shop premiered on March 1, 2019,[12] with the premiere episode being filmed in Charlotte, North Carolina, during the NBA's 2019 All-Star Weekend.[13]
The fourth season premiered on May 28, 2021.[14]
Episodes
[edit]Season 1 (2018)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | August 28, 2018 | |
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | October 12, 2018 | |
| 3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | December 21, 2018 | |
Season 2 (2019–20)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | "Episode 1" | March 1, 2019 | |
| 5 | 2 | "Episode 2" | May 5, 2019 | |
|
Guests: Lonzo Ball, Don Cheadle, DeAndre Hopkins, Jimmy Iovine, Seth Rogen, Travis Scott, and Pharrell Williams.[17] | ||||
| 6 | 3 | "Episode 3 (New York)" | September 3, 2019 | |
|
Guests: Kevin Hart, Rob Gronkowski, Kevin Love, CJ McCollum, Charlamagne tha God, Lil Nas X, and Paul Rivera. | ||||
| 7 | 4 | "Episode 4 (L.A.)" | October 25, 2019 | |
|
Guests: Gavin Newsom, Jerrod Carmichael, Rick Rubin, Bill Hader, Sean Combs, Paul Rivera, DeMar DeRozan, Rich Paul, Ed O'Bannon, Katelyn Ohashi, Diana Taurasi | ||||
| 8 | 5 | "Episode 5" | December 14, 2019 | |
| 9 | 6 | "Episode 6" | February 7, 2020 | |
Season 3 (2020)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | "Episode 1" | March 8, 2020 | |
|
Guests: Patrick Mahomes, Chadwick Boseman, Trae Young, Roddy Ricch, Tiffany Haddish, Steve Stoute and Paul Rivera | ||||
| 11 | 2 | "Episode 2" | October 30, 2020 | |
|
Guests: Former President Barack Obama | ||||
Season 4 (2021)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | "Episode 1" | May 28, 2021 | |
| 13 | 2 | "Episode 2" | June 25, 2021 | |
| 14 | 3 | "Episode 3" | July 30, 2021 | |
| 15 | 4 | "Episode 4" | August 27, 2021 | |
| 16 | 5 | "Episode 5" | September 24, 2021 | |
| 17 | 6 | "Episode 6" | October 29, 2021 | |
Season 5 (2022)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 1 | "Episode 1" | March 4, 2022 | |
|
Guests: Donald Glover, Quinta Brunson, J Balvin, Lamar Jackson Hosts: LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Paul Rivera | ||||
| 19 | 2 | "Episode 2" | April 4, 2022 | |
| 20 | 3 | "Episode 3" | May 6, 2022 | |
| 21 | 4 | "Episode 4" | June 10, 2022 | |
| 22 | 5 | "Episode 5" | July 15, 2022 | |
|
Guests: Daniel Kaluuya, Marcus Rashford, Rashid Johnson Hosts: LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Paul Rivera | ||||
| 23 | 6 | "Episode 6" | September 2, 2022 | |
| 24 | 7 | "Episode 7" | October 7, 2022 | |
| 25 | 8 | "Episode 8" | December 20, 2022 | |
Season 6 (2023)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 1 | "Episode 1" | March 9, 2023 | |
| 27 | 2 | "Episode 2" | March 23, 2023 | |
| 28 | 3 | "Episode 3" | April 6, 2023 | |
| 29 | 4 | "Episode 4" | April 20, 2023 | |
| 30 | 5 | "Episode 5" | May 4, 2023 | |
| 31 | 6 | "Episode 6" | May 18, 2023 | |
| 32 | 7 | "Episode 7" | June 1, 2023 | |
| 33 | 8 | "Episode 8" | June 15, 2023 | |
Reception
[edit]Following the series' HBO premiere, Haley O'Shaughnessy of The Ringer wrote: "The setting creates a very personal facade, an opportunity to speak on fame and kids and race openly. The viewer is in on the conversation, but isn't in the conversation. Opinions on hot-topic issues that LeBron's addressed before aren’t delivered like a sermon, which are more likely to fall flat. He’s chatting with people he respects. And you feel like part of that group."[15] O'Shaughnessy added that, "The Shop is another platform, but it isn't a pedestal. It's not a postgame press conference, where power dynamics are heavily skewed. It's an HBO show that attempts to keep a level playing field for everyone involved."[15] Following the second episode, The Ringer's Micah Peters opined, "[The Shop is] really good TV––they sip wine, they offer a side of themselves rarely seen in public, and LeBron James says swear words. Even the color palette is spare and direct. This, like most barbershops, is a space reserved strictly for real talk."[18] Rashad Grove of The Source wrote on the series' authenticity of the Black barbershop experience, "LeBron on The Shop is showing the world what really goes down at the Black barbershop. The conversations are raw and authentic over many glasses of wine."[19]
Meredith Blake of the Los Angeles Times published a lukewarm review of the first episode, writing, "Though the effort to capture the vibrance and tell-it-like-it-is spirit of the African American barbershop met with slightly mixed results in the first episode, The Shop is more than worth a return visit," and adding "stylish black-and-white photographs of guests arriving at the shop serve as act breaks and enhance the show’s documentary feel. But the choppy editing sometimes removes context from the conversation, offering little sense of how one subject flows to the next."[20]
Billy Haisley of Deadspin wrote a more critical review of The Shop's first episode, questioning its candidness. Haisley referred to other outlets' comments on the episode, writing," Amazing: Slate, the Washington Post, and HBO all agree that an edited, literally filtered TV program created, produced, and starring a world-famous athlete with a notoriously and meticulously maintained image is best described as 'unfiltered.' The Ringer and the Sporting News at least consulted a thesaurus before copying The Shop's press release language, writing, respectfully, that the episode was 'honest' and 'candid.'"[21] Haisley added, "The point here isn't that the things LeBron and Co. say in The Shop are insincere or fake or anything of the sort [...] Rather, the point is that the things said in The Shop are calculated, risk-free, decidedly filtered, stated for the predominant purpose of bolstering LeBron's brand. It's to position LeBron as a bold truth-teller without him having to actually tell any bold truths. And it should be treated as such."[21] Carrie Battan of The New Yorker wrote positively of the show's candidness, however, commenting: "Theoretically, The Shop should have been yet another affirmation of our worst suspicions—that we would only ever get to see our superheroes in sanitized, strictly controlled ways. But James has offered a potent rebuttal to the argument that celebrities can't make interesting, revelatory content about themselves and their colleagues."[22]
Battan wrote a positive review of The Shop, following its first season, as she opined positively on the series' setting "designed to generate the sense of candor, camaraderie, and intimacy that happens inside African-American barbershops." Battan conceded "[she does] not operate under the delusion that this show is a purely unfiltered, candid, and unprecedentedly revealing look at the assembled stars. There are plenty of platitudes and generalities being proffered here," but opined that The Shop "does exactly what the best celebrity profiles have always aspired to do: delight, surprise, inform."[22]
Due to the series airing during James' basketball career, sports media outlets naturally covered The Shop, focusing on segments that dealt with James' presence in basketball. The ongoings of James' first season as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers lent themselves to discussion topics on the series, which led to further coverage by sports media. For example, Anthony Davis was the subject of rumors regarding an attempt to trade him to the Lakers at the time of his appearance on The Shop.[12] The series also chronicled James' and fellow Lakers teammate Lonzo Ball's reactions to Magic Johnson stepping down from his Lakers front office role during the 2019 offseason; this was also noted by sports media outlets.[23][24]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Gundersen, Erik García (August 21, 2018). "LeBron James' show 'The Shop' to air on HBO Tuesday Aug. 28". USA Today. LeBron Wire. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ White, Peter (February 28, 2022). "LeBron James' 'The Shop' Moves From HBO To YouTube". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Guthrie, Marisa (July 26, 2018). "HBO Picks Up LeBron James Barbershop-Set Talk Show (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ a b c Johnson, Derreck (June 9, 2017). "This Video of Draymond Green, LeBron James, and 2 Chainz Is the Barbershop Experience Personified". Slate. Ring Don't Lie. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Vardon, Joe (June 9, 2017). "LeBron James says his mother did not want him to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers". Cleveland.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Bella, Timothy (August 29, 2018). "LeBron talks about fatherhood, double standards and the n-word in HBO premiere". The Washington Post. Morning Mix. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Caron, Emily (October 10, 2018). "Drake, Ben Simmons and Others Join LeBron James for Episode Two of 'The Shop' on HBO". Sports Illustrated. The Crossover. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Heil, Emily (September 11, 2018). "LeBron James and Drake spotted after filming at a Washington hair salon". The Washington Post. Reliable Source. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ "Drake Opens Up About Feud with 'Manipulative' Kanye West: 'This Guy's Trolling Me'". PEOPLE.com.
- ^ Gundersen, Erik García (December 12, 2018). "LeBron's 'The Shop' to return to HBO on Dec. 21". USA Today. LeBron Wire. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ "Antonio Brown goes public with his desire to leave Pittsburgh: 'Time to move on'". CBSSports.com. 12 February 2019.
- ^ a b c Curtis, Charles (February 21, 2019). "Anthony Davis will appear on LeBron's 'The Shop,' so everyone made tampering jokes". USA Today. For the Win. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Shapiro, Michael (February 21, 2019). "Anthony Davis, Antonio Brown to Appear on LeBron James' HBO Show 'The Shop'". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 24, 2021). "LeBron James, Jay-Z & Bad Bunny Set For New Season Of HBO's 'The Shop: Uninterrupted'". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ a b c O'Shaughnessy, Haley (August 29, 2018). "LeBron James Finds His Voice on 'The Shop'". The Ringer. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Caron, Emily (December 21, 2018). "LeBron James Praises Adam Silver, Says NFL Owners Have 'Slave Mentality'". Sports Illustrated. The Crossover. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Shifferaw, Abel (May 4, 2019). "LeBron James Recalls Finding Out Magic Johnson Stepped Down: 'It Was Just Weird'". Complex. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- ^ Peters, Micah (October 13, 2018). "Drake Aired Out Kanye West to LeBron James on 'The Shop'". The Ringer. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Grove, Rashad (December 21, 2018). "Episode Three of 'The Shop' Will Feature Mary J. Blige, Chris Bosh, and More". The Source. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Blake, Meredith (August 29, 2018). "Review: With 'The Shop,' LeBron James brings frank talk of race, politics and fame to HBO". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Haisley, Billy (August 31, 2018). "There's Nothing Candid About LeBron's The Shop". Deadspin. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Battan, Carrie (December 22, 2018). "LeBron James's Show "The Shop" Reinvigorates the Celebrity Interview". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- ^ Conway, Tyler (May 4, 2019). "Lonzo Ball, LeBron James Talk Zion Williamson, Magic Johnson on HBO's The Shop". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- ^ Zillgit, Jeff (May 5, 2019). "LeBron James left stunned, disappointed by Magic Johnson's resignation with Lakers". USA Today. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
External links
[edit]- The Shop on HBO—The official website for the series in the United States.
- The Shop at IMDb—A user-generated database of information related to the series.
| Basketball career | |
|---|---|
| Family |
|
| Films | |
| Television series | |
| Related media | |
| Other ventures | |
- 2010s American black television series
- 2010s American television talk shows
- 2016 web series debuts
- 2017 web series endings
- 2018 American television series debuts
- American English-language television shows
- HBO original programming
- Works by LeBron James
- Television shows filmed in Los Angeles
- Television shows filmed in New Orleans
- Television shows filmed in North Carolina
- Television series by SpringHill Entertainment
- 2020s YouTube series
- Television series by Uninterrupted