The headlines are heading to the television screens.
Lionsgate Television is developing a scripted series based on the gambling scandal involving former Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, the entertainment company announced Thursday.
The show will follow Ohtani’s rise, including his record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December and the news, a few months later, that Ohtani’s interpreter at the time, Ippei Mizuhara allegedly stole $17 million from the baseball icon to pay for his gambling. debts.
Los Angeles fired Mizuhara and he turned himself in to federal authorities following the allegations. Mizuhara recently agreed to plead guilty to bank fraud charges related to the scandal, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Mizuhara’s arraignment is scheduled for May 14.
Free daily sports updates straight to your inbox. Register
Free daily sports updates straight to your inbox. Register
Buy
Tony Award winner Scott Delman and sports journalist Albert Chen will executive produce the series.
“With a strong track record of creating bold, boundary-pushing series, Lionsgate Television is the perfect partner to bring this incredible story to the screen,” Delman said in a statement. “Additionally, Albert’s extensive experience in sports journalism will allow us to connect the dots to make sense of the surprising turn of events we have seen unfold on the world stage.”
Delman is known for his work on the television series “Station 11” and for serving as a producer on the Broadway hits “The Book of Mormon” and “Death of a Salesman,” among others.
Chen wrote a book on sports gambling, “Billion Dollar Fantasy,” and was an editor at “Sports Illustrated,” where he covered baseball.
“This is the biggest sports betting scandal in Major League Baseball since Pete Rose – and at its center is its biggest star, the one to whom MLB hitched its wagon,” Chen said in a statement . “We will get to the heart of the story: a story of trust, betrayal and the pitfalls of wealth and fame.”
Required reading
(Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)