‘Clipped’ Trailer: Donald Sterling’s Disgraced L.A. Clippers Exit Forms FX’s Latest Scandal Series
HBO had the Lakers, now FX has the Clippers. Will the series’ fates differ (as the real-life teams’ have), or will “Clipped” face the same quick, quiet end as “Winning Time”? We’ll find out this June, when FX’s latest ripped-from-the-headlines adaptation premieres exclusively on Hulu. The trailer was released Thursday, April 25 — just under six weeks prior to the premiere — and now you can watch the first footage below.
Set in 2013, the six-episode limited series stars Ed O’Neill as L.A. Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling and Laurence Fishburne as the team’s head coach, Doc Rivers. Formerly with the Boston Celtics (who won an NBA title in 2008), Rivers had just joined the Clippers when the owner’s racist comments went public, sending the organization into a tailspin and Sterling into a power struggle with Rivers, players, and the NBA at large (a power struggle which, spoiler alert, he would eventually lose). Key players in the tumultuous saga include Shelly Sterling (Jacki Weaver), the owner’s wife and business partner of 60 years, and V.Stiviano (Cleopatra Coleman), his assistant and mistress whose ambition drove her to release the damning tapes of her boss.
Within a year of the story breaking (and with plenty of additional complaints coming out), Sterling received a lifetime ban from the NBA and was fined a $2.5 million. The Clippers were sold in 2014, but Rivers remained their head coach through 2020. (He also played for the team in the early ’90s for one season.)
The series is based on ESPN’s “30 for 30” podcast “The Sterling Affairs,” and Gina Welch (who previously produced and wrote for “Feud” Season 1, “The Terror,” “Castle Rock,” and “Under the Banner of Heaven”) serves as creator, showrunner, and executive producer. Kevin Bray (“The Patient,” “Suits”) directs three of the six episodes, and joins fellow executive producers Zanne Devine, Ramona Shelburne, and Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson (who also E.P. the network’s award-winning anthology, “American Crime Story”). The series is an FX production, but it will only be available to watch on Hulu.
Additional cast members include Kelly AuCoin (“Billions”), J. Alphonse Nicholson (“P-Valley), Rich Sommer (“Mad Men”), Corbin Bernsen (“The Curse”), Clifton Davis (“Billions”), and Harriet Sansom Harris (“Licorice Pizza,” “Phantom Thread”).
“Clipped” premieres Tuesday, June 4 on Hulu with two episodes. Watch the trailer below.
