Mike Tyson is not a good dude (or maybe I just don’t like him from childhood video game trauma), but Hulu is hoping that it can unpack him a bit more to show us the troubled man behind the last true boxing icon in its new bio-series, Mike. Following hot on the heels of its incredibly successful and really good Pamela Anderson / Tommy Lee bio series, Pam & Tommy, Hulu has dropped the first trailer for Mike below, and it shows off the conflicting sides of one of the most powerful boxers to ever fight.
Tyson’s story has a whole lot of highs and lows as he’s gone from champion to villain to meme and back again. A series like this can be worrisome in that they can often glorify folks who don’t always deserve it. However, Mike comes from screenwriter Steven Rogers and the rest of the creative team behind I, Tonya, which was one of the best biopics in years when it came out and superbly balanced the humanity and flaws of its central character. Hopefully, they can bring the same kind of storytelling to Mike as the series dives into “class in America, race in America, fame and the power of media, misogyny, the wealth divide, the promise of the American Dream and ultimately our own role in shaping Mike’s story.” Mike Tyson himself is not involved in the Hulu show, so you can either take that as a good thing or a bad one.
Portraying Mike will be Trevante Rhodes, who has the look down, though Tyson’s unique voice doesn’t quite seem to be there. Russell Hornsby will star as Don King, the big-haired (and soulless) promoter who helped turn Tyson into a star. The series also stars Harvey Keitel, Laura Harrier, Li Eubanks, Olunike Adeliyi, and B.J. Minor and will be directed by I, Tonya‘s Craig Gillespie. Karin Gist will serve as showrunner with Claire Brown. Others from I, Tonya involved in the show as executive producers are Clubhouse Pictures’ Bryan Unkeless and Scott Morgan and LuckyChap’s Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie, along with Entertainment 360’s Darin Friedman.
The eight-episode Mike miniseries will premiere on Hulu on August 25 with two episodes.
