Mirza Aaqib Beg
Created by David E. Kelley and Dean Lorey, ‘Big Shot’ is a sports dramedy series that revolves around Marvyn Korn, a short-tempered man who loses his job as the coach of a college basketball team and is forced to reinvent his career from scratch. He becomes the coach of a girl’s high school team at an elite private school. As the story unfolds, he slowly becomes a father figure for the teenagers going through different personal problems. Furthermore, he also works on his anger management issues and becomes a lot more tolerant and understanding coach.
The inspiring story of Korn, who turns his life around after losing his job and ends up helping others fulfill their dream not just on the court but even in their personal lives, is a must-watch. The plot of the series is not unique and therefore may arouse curiosity in some viewers about its origins. In case you are also contemplating similar questions and wish to learn whether the sports dramedy is inspired by a true-life story or not, we have got you covered.
Is Big Shot Based on a True Story?
No, ‘Big Shot’ is not based on a true story. None of the cast or creators has claimed so far that the series is inspired by real-life events. The story is born out of an original idea by Brad Garrett, who pitched it to David E. Kelley and then helped Kelley and Lorey develop the show. However, if you watch the series, the influence of sports films and television shows is hard to ignore. In all likelihood, the series takes inspiration from numerous other works in the same genre. Hence, it’s safe to presume that the sports dramedy is rooted in fiction rather than reality. But it does explore several important themes and social issues that are worth looking into.
While discussing the show, the stars of the Disney+ series gave their perspective on it. Jessalyn Gilsig, who essays the role of Holly in the show, said, ”I have a 14-year-old daughter, and she plays soccer,” said Gilsig. “This show, having all these young female characters on it…we are really looking at their personal ambition, personal development, and we’re looking at it through this team. They are being challenged by this coach, who is a fish out of water. It’s a new voice they have to learn how to navigate.”
The actress continued, ”In many ways, we have done such a disservice to female characters over time in storytelling, and it’s incredibly refreshing to see that we can finally tell stories about young girls that are not solely focused on relationships or being mean to each other — that’s not what this is about. It’s truly about these interesting young girls — and it’s really funny. It’s a new lens, but it’s an important lens.”
Gilsig’s views on the series are refreshing, and it’s true that the series does break stereotypes by not just limiting its female characters to typical clichéd roles that are quite common in popular culture. Furthermore, it brings to light the issues of women’s sports and exposes the typical outlook of society towards female athletes. By creating a sports series focused on women, the creators have also managed to open discussions of the importance of the promotion of women’s sports that has been neglected for a long time now.
Women often have to face numerous hurdles if they try to establish a career, and most of them end up giving up on their dreams due to social pressure or the vast pay gap. The series, therefore, does a great job of encouraging future female sports athletes to pick up a sport and stick with their dreams. Although the themes of perseverance, sacrifice, and discovering self-knowledge are used to tell the gripping tale of Korn and his team, but the show is also about one more crucial thing.
“It’s a show about second chances,” said Yvette Nicole Brown in the same discussion with the rest of the cast. The actress later added, ”And it’s not just Marvyn Korn — every character on the show at some point — and I want to say all the actors’ names: Sophia Mitri Schloss, Nell Verlaque, Tiana Le, Monique Green, Tisha Eve Custodio, Cricket Wampler, and Richard Robichaux — everyone on this show has a journey where they find out something about themselves that they can tweak just a little bit to be more palatable for the rest of the world, which is what is beautiful about the show.”
Popular television shows like ‘Cobra Kai’ and ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ also use similar themes of perseverance, second chances, and discovering self-awareness. So, sports shows that are not based on a true story like ‘Big Shot’ are pretty common, and they usually use an amalgamation of several themes to fuel their fictional narrative.
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