The Big Picture FX’s newest venture into headline-grabbing true stories is the upcoming limited series, Clipped. The six-part series revolving around the notorious NBA team, the LA Clippers, just released a trailer for one of the most infamous times in their history. Starring Laurence Fishburne as Head Coach Doc Rivers, the series depicts the controversy revolving around owner Donald Sterling’s racism in 2013. A detailed press release for the series explains the context of these events.
“FX’s Clipped takes you behind the scenes of a notorious NBA owner’s racist remarks, captured on a tape heard around the world. Based on the hit ESPN 30 for 30 podcast ‘The Sterling Affairs,’ this limited series charts the collision between a dysfunctional basketball organization and even less functional marriage, and the precipitating tape’s impact on an ensemble of characters striving to win against the backdrop of the most cursed team in the league.
As depicted in the trailer, this series has many moving parts. Rivers initially accepts the position as Head Coach with the motivation of elevating the worst team in the league to a Championship. This pressure is further complicated by Sterling’s messy personal life. While estranged from his wife, Shelly , he pursues a relationship with his personal assistant V , who has aspirations of her own. This dynamic culminates in V recording Sterling telling her to not “bring Black people to my games.
The ‘Clipped’ Trailer Delves Into Race Relations In Basketball While Sterling was known for this racist rhetoric for decades, the recording of such inflammatory remarks put a fine point on just what he was allowed to get away with. The trailer shows Sterling giving season ticket holders access to the players in their private moments in the locker room, treating them like they are pieces of meat.
Stories like these resonate particularly because they continue to be topical. Though it is over a decade after the news broke, these themes still affect the world at large. FX has a brand of telling heightened stories that take place in the past of pop culture, but Clipped may be one of the most relevant. Formerly advertised as The Sterling Affairs, the series premieres on Hulu, on June 4.