Biographical sports drama The Greatest is out now on Amazon Prime Video.
The eight episodes cover the personal and professional life of late legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, portrayed by Jaalen Best.
Fresh off winning gold at the 1960 Olympics, the miniseries follows the once-in-a-generation prodigy, who has set his sights on the heavyweight championship, as he contends with newfound fame, self-doubt, family conflict and a society that is not ready for him to become his own man.
The show will also star Michael Ealy as Malcom X, the late civil rights leader who heavily influenced the young champion.
Created in collaboration with his estate, the series’ executive producers include Josh Wakely, Michael B Jordan and Muhammad’s widow Lonnie Ali.
In an interview, she expressed her approval of actor Jaalen Best’s portrayal of her husband, saying that she knew he would be perfect from the moment she met him.
“He had that Ali aura, that Muhammad charisma, that heart and that sweetness, and he even had these little interesting idiosyncrasies that Muhammad had,” she said.
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, the athlete began training as an amateur boxer at age 12, and won his Olympics gold medal at age 18 in the light heavyweight division, turning professional shortly after.
He is still considered the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time and remains a prominent figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and beyond. Muhammad has also been described as a hip-hop pioneer because he was famous for intimidating his opponents with rhyme schemes and spoken-word poetry.