LeBron James Adds Talk Show Host to His Resume!

LeBron James continues to add to his impressive resume off the court with a new talk show on HBO.

LeBron James is showing us one of the most glaring reasons why he left Cleveland, again, to come to Los Angeles and play for the Lakers. We all know that he has a production company and that is one of the avenues he is pursuing in his post-basketball life.

Right now, he is sitting on top of the mountain being considered the best player in the NBA. LeBron James can fit a lot of things into his schedule over the summer. James decided to open up a school in Akron, Ohio. He even found time to ignore Donald Trump and his insults in between putting the Lakers back on the map.

Maybe the direction of the franchise was not all LeBron James discussed with Magic Johnson before the contract signing. Maybe Johnson was giving him talk show advice…say what you want about The Magic Show, I liked it. Okay, maybe it was Sheila E.

LeBron James now has talk show host on his list of responsibilities, launching his brand new show, “The Shop” on HBO. The half-hour series premiered on Tuesday. This is the first project that you will probably see James in the forefront, more talking about things that are on his mind.

He is already serving as the Executive Producer to a three-part documentary on Showtime called “Shut Up and Dribble” set to debut in October. The title is a brilliant play on words used by Fox News host Laura Ingraham to try and shut him up about talking politics earlier this year in February.

That project was directed by Gotham Chopra, who directed Kobe Bryant‘s “Muse” back in 2015 (Anyone wants the Lakers connections these days?!)

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The show is centered around James, who chats with celebrity guests about sports, politics, race relations, parenthood and other topics that includes…let me take a second look here, yep, BROADWAY MUSICALS!

Hopefully, the fans will look past the production value of the stereotypical barbershop theme and look at the topics and the messages that are being expressed in the show.

If you look deeper, it is extremely smart and it does shine the light on the discussions that really do get discussed in a barber shop. Plus, it allows exposure to barbershops across the country with all of the productions and tapings being done in different shops. The first episode was taped in West Hollywood’s Barber Surgeons Guild.

No matter how this journey goes, HBO has to know that it will go better than the last time they tried the sports talk show route. Anyone remember “Any Given Wednesday” by Bill Simmons? If you don’t, no worries, it didn’t last long enough for anyone to care. My only memory of the show was when Ben Affleck went on a profanity-laced tirade on the show.

I remember the excitement of Magic’s first show and the revolving door of A-list stars that was on his show in the beginning. LeBron James’ first show did not disappoint either.

LeBron James debut episode brought in the likes of rappers Snoop Dogg and Vince Staples, Jerrod Carmichael, Draymond Green of the World Champion Golden State Warriors (…guess they got over the Finals incident huh?) and newly minted rich New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Wrapping up the guest list is former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart and the lovely Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks.

I see where LeBron James is going with “The Shop”. This gives the hardcore NBA fan the chance to get to know James outside of basketball. It’s not the business closely guarded LeBron that talks about the NBA, the team and his teammates.

“The Shop” shows him in a more relaxed mood and he seems a lot more open. It also introduces James in a sense to non-NBA fans that have been watching the seemingly one-sided feud with Donald Trump, who seemed to question his intelligence.

Some of the better moments in my opinion include…

Dealing with the challenges that come with being “King James”. He also looks back at his experiences of being at a white Catholic high school. James also goes into detail about his decision to be more vocal about race relations following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

One of his more visual forms everyone should remember is the ESPY’s speech with the Banana Boat crew featuring Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony.

"“When I decided I was going to start speaking up and not giving a … about the backlash or if it affects me, my whole mind-set was ‘It’s not about me,’ said James. ‘My popularity went down. But at the end of the day, my truth to so many different kids and so many different people was broader than me personally.”"

LeBron James also brought up the incident of vandals spraying the “N” word on the gate of his Los Angeles home last year. Stating that it is a reminder that…

"“no matter how big you become in America, you’re still an African American.”"

Having been in TV media for almost 25 years, I can readily see that this show will have to pick an identity for credibility to survive long term.

Politics and the constant race division in the country reared it’s head a few times in the show. It caused some lively moments in the show and was very interesting as well. Sometimes controversy does bring ratings.

Odell Beckham Jr. says that he’s often made out to be a “zoo animal” and a “show monkey”. Again this is considered one of the most famous athletes in New York today. Easily the most talented.

Draymond Green took the high road when it came to the idea of being an advocate, but Michael Bennett, who had an encounter in Las Vegas with the police which led to Bennett’s accusation of excessive force, believes in speaking up…

"“When I was growing up, I was looking for Michael Jordan to say something. He never did. Now kids can look up and be like, ‘What LeBron said.'”"

Something that LeBron James and HBO need to be very wary of is the editing at times during the show. Understanding the show is 30 minutes and hours of footage has to be spliced down to fit the time permitting. That’s one thing, but if the content goes in the direction it’s going, it’s very easy to take statements out of context of a conversation due to a choppy edit. Especially in the era of social media and the different points of views out there.

Such as the president, for example, earlier this year after James was on CNN with Don Lemon…

"“Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do. I like Mike. “"

Hollywood projects, a lifetime contract with Nike worth a reported billion dollars, a $154 million dollar Lakers contract. Well business-wise, he’s outdoing everyone who appeared on The Apprentice…

Just Sayin!