Tag: Odell Beckham Jr.

LeBron James has conquered professional basketball, opened his own school, become an outspoken voice in American politics and race relations, and was arguably the best part of “Trainwreck.” A few months before he makes his official debut as a Los Angeles Laker, the basketball superstar has added another item to his resume, making his debut as a talk show host, of sorts, in HBO’s “The Shop.” In the half-hour series that premiered Tuesday, James chats with celebrity guests about sports, yes, but also politics, race relations, parenthood, the pressure of success and even Broadway musicals. HBO already tried the sports-adjacent-talk-show-on-a-school-night thing with “Any Given Wednesday,” Bill Simmons’ short-lived talker in 2016. (The premiere was filmed last month at West Hollywood’s Barber Surgeons Guild.) Though the effort to capture the vibrance and tell-it-like-it-is spirit of the African American barbershop met with slightly mixed results in the first episode, “The Shop” is more than worth a return visit. The series is, if nothing else, an impressive feat of booking. In the debut episode, James is joined by his childhood friend, business partner and unofficial sidekick Maverick Carter, and a roster that included rappers Snoop Dogg and Vince Staples, comedian Jerrod Carmichael, Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The guest list also includes faces that might not typically show up in a barbershop, like former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart and Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks. Cameras positioned in seemingly every corner of the shop capture the participants as they get their hair trimmed, swill brandy and lounge in leather armchairs. Stylish black-and-white photographs of guests arriving at the shop serve as act breaks and enhance the show’s documentary feel. But the choppy editing sometimes removes context from the conversation, offering little sense of how one subject flows to the next.