Prime Video put out the full trailer today for “The Greatest,” its eight episode Muhammad Ali series, and it lands November 4. This is the first scripted series about Ali ever made with his estate behind it, and his widow Lonnie Ali is one of the executive producers.
Newcomer Jaalen Best plays Ali from the beginning, back when he was still Cassius Clay. The season runs from his gold medal at the 1960 Olympics through the 1964 night he took the heavyweight title off Sonny Liston, the fight that made him a star.
“The world remembers an icon, but ‘The Greatest’ is about a man, a husband, a father, a brother, and a son.”
Prime Video on the series
The cast around Best is stacked. Omari Hardwick plays his father and Dana Gourrier plays his mother. Amin Joseph plays Liston, Giovanni Ribisi plays trainer Angelo Dundee, and Michael Ealy plays Malcolm X. Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society and Roc Nation are among the producers, and “Cross” creator Ben Watkins runs the show.
Plenty of actors have played Ali in one off movies. Nobody has ever gotten eight episodes and the family’s blessing to do it. All eight drop at once on November 4, and the trailer alone makes it look like Prime Video spent the money.
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