FX's 'Clipped' Series Recreates The L.A. Clippers Scandal That Rocked The NBA

The official trailer for the docudrama Clipped has hit, with Laurence Fishburne, Jacki Weaver, Cleopatra Coleman, and Ed O’Neill delivering a behind-the-scenes dramatization of one of the NBA’s most scandalous moments.

The six-part limited series debuts June 4 on Hulu with back-to-back episodes.

FX’s Clipped probes 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.

Famed coach Doc Rivers (Laurence Fishburne) arrives as coach of the Clippers in 2013. With a promising roster of big personalities, Rivers had the building blocks to win the franchise’s first championship. The team’s owner, Donald Sterling (Ed O’Neill), is a well-known problem: he’s cheap, he’s erratic, he’s a bully.

But minimizing Sterling’s influence to win a title becomes a personal quest for Doc. Meanwhile, a courtside power struggle escalates between Sterling’s ambitious personal assistant V. Stiviano (Cleopatra Coleman) and his wife and business partner of 60 years, Shelly (Jacki Weaver).

The limited series also stars Kelly AuCoin as Sterling’s right-hand, Andy Roeser, J. Alphonse Nicholson as Chris Paul, Rich Sommers as the Clippers’ PR man, Seth Burton, Corbin Bernsen as Pierce O’Donnell, Clifton Davis as NBA great Elgin Baylor, and Harriet Sansom Harris as “Justine.”

Executive Producers are Gina Welch, who serves as creator and showrunner, Emmy winning producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, Zanne Devine, Ramona Shelburne and Kevin Bray, who directed three of the six episodes. The series is an FX Production.