FX/Hulu
Making dramatized TV series about modern factual events is always tricky given that the information and people involved remain so fresh in the mind of the public.
There’s been dozens of these sorts of TV shows in recent years, including but not limited to, The Dropout, Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber, WeCrashed, Dopesick, Pam & Tommy, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, and so on.
Sometimes it works: Winning Time was critically acclaimed, while TV fans’ minds were blown by how much Sebastian Stan and Lily James looked like Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson, respectively, in Pam & Tommy.
On the flip side of that coin is the new FX on Huku series Clipped, which, despite solid reviews from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, looks ridiculous every time it pops up on social media.
Earlier this week, for example, we brought you the series’ bootlegged version of the Splash Brothers, a.k.a. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Now, a recent episode featured the character of JJ Redick making a joke about the N-word while freestyle rapping. Yes — it’s as cringeworthy as it sounds.
“My name is JJ / I pull the trigger / But what I won’t do / Is say my n—!” Redick, played by actor Charlie McElveen, raps.
As a viral tweet, which has over 4 million views, pointed out, “The Lakers getting a prestige HBO show and the Clippers getting a Hulu show perfectly encapsulates their dynamic in LA.”
Another joke about the moment from Clipped suggested that Redick lost his status as frontrunner for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching job to Dan Hurley because of it.
BREAKING: JJ Redick was in the lead for the Lakers HC vacancy until this video surfaced late last night.
Dan Hurley is now considered the favorite. pic.twitter.com/Gsmff47U5d
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) June 6, 2024
Clipped, which releases new episodes on Hulu on Tuesdays, stars Laurence Fishburne as Doc Rivers and Ed O’Neil as Donald Sterling.
Based on the 30 for 30 podcast “The Sterling Affairs, the series also stars Jacki Weaver, Cleopatra Coleman, Kelly AuCoin, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Rich Sommer, Corbin Bernsen, Clifton Davis, Harriet Sansom Harris, Austin Scott, Charlie McElveen, Sheldon Bailey, Jock McKissic, and LeVar Burton (as himself).