When you have a black man known as “The Baddest man on the Planet”, who has a controversial life story, and 50 out of 58 wins in a legendary boxing career, what do you do? You give him a show. That’s nothing new in a world where more sports documentaries and TV series are being created every year. But, what happens when said man is unaware of this show you are apparently dedicating to him? Certainly, nothing as legendary as the man himself, but maybe something entertaining all the same. Here is everything we know about Mike Season 1.
Mike is a Hulu miniseries about the well-known boxer, Mike Tyson. The show was created by Steve Rogers for the American online streaming platform in 2022. Mike Season 1 has eight episodes directed by Craig Gillespie (episodes 1-4), Tiffany Johnson (episodes 5 and 6), and Director X (episodes 7 and 8). LuckyChap Entertainment, Clubhouse Pictures, 20th Television, and The Gist of it, were some of the production companies involved in the making of Mike Season 1.
There were seven writers involved in Mike Season 1, including Steve Rogers, who wrote the first two episodes. The other writers are Keisha Dollar, Darnell Brown, Karin Gist, Samantha Corbin-Miller, Mando Alvarado, and Anthony Sparks. Mike Season 1 premiered on August 25, 2022, and wrapped up on September 15, 2022.
Mike Season 1 Release Date
On August 25, 2022, Mike Season 1 Episode 1, and Episode 2 premiered at the same time on Hulu. New episodes were then released weekly, two episodes at a time. Mike Season 1 Episodes 3 and 4 were released on September 1, 2022, and the next two episodes were released on September 8, 2022. Episode 7 and the season finale became available on September 15, 2022. Mike has not been renewed for season 2, and as such. The release date remains unknown. However, it is possible the American miniseries will be renewed for season 2.
Mike Season 2 Storyline
From a humble but crime-driven beginning to a fall from grace, the series, Mike, tells the full-circle story of legendary boxer, Mike Tyson. Several versions of Mike, including adult Mike played by Trevante Rhodes, dramatically narrate his story throughout the season. Mike Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2 focus on how Tyson’s fighting courage was ignited. Both episodes take us through young Tyson’s childhood, from living with a domestically abused mother to skipping school because he was being bullied.
One day, after turning to care for pigeons as a hobby, a bully kills one of Tyson’s pigeons. Anger takes over the boy, and he fights back. This is when Tyson decides he won’t be bullied anymore. He would be a fighter instead. But he goes about it in the wrong way.
Tyson starts down a destructive path, where he joins a gang, becomes a thief, and is arrested 37 times by the age of 13. At this age, things started to take a turn for the better. Tyson is introduced to Cus D’Amato, a boxing trainer, by his prison counselor. After seeing how talented Mike was at fighting, Cus decides to take him into his home, and make Mike the greatest boxer of all time. Cus was determined to make people respect Mike as much as they feared him.
At the age of 14, Mike fought in his first-ever professional match and won. Young Mike still continues living a life of crime, but this phase is quickly shut down when he loses both his mother and his friend. He falls back on his talent, and works harder than ever, determined to make Cus proud. By the end of episode 2, Mike had won 27 matches consecutively and had gathered both fame and wealth. Despite losing Cus to an illness, Mike turns his memories with this father figure into strength.
The episodes that follow show Mike falling in love, being led astray by a promoter called Don King, going to jail for raping an 18-year-old woman, and finally, facing his demons. Mike Season 1 is packed with vivid boxing moments and a well-delivered narrative. In Mike Season 1, we get to see Mike answer the question he asked in the first few seconds of the show: “Who am I?”
Mike Season 1 Plot
After winning a beauty pageant to become Miss Black Rhode Island, Desiree Washington went on to compete for the title of Miss Black America. She met Tyson in Indianapolis, where the pageant was to take place. The day after Desiree and Mike met, she checked into the hospital, claiming to have been raped by Mike. Although Mike denied these allegations, his driver testified against him in court and is considering other evidence. Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison in 1991. He was later released on parole in 1995. Until today, Mike denies he ever raped Desiree Washington.
Mike Season 1 Cast
Like many other miniseries, Mike’s Season 1 cast is a small one. Mike himself is played by Trevante Rhodes, an American actor known for acting as Chiron in the Academy Award-winning film titled Moonlight. The other main actor in Mike is Russell Hornsby, who plays Don King, a boxing promoter. The other actors and actresses in Mike Season 1 are:
- Harvey Keitel as Cus D’Amato (Mike’s trainer)
- Olunike Adeliyi as Lornal Mae (Mike’s mother)
- Laura Garnier as Robin Givens (Mike’s first wife)
- TJ Atoms as Barking (a friend of Mike)
- Li Eubanks as Desiree Washington (18-year-old who accused Mike of raping her in 1991)
- Grace Zabriskie as Camille D’Amato (Cus’ wife)
Mike Season 1 Controversy
Before the release of the Hulu miniseries, Mike, former Boxing champion, Mike Tyson, on whom the series is based, took to Instagram. He said he didn’t approve of the upcoming series as he was neither consulted nor paid for his story to be used. Mike Tyson accused the executives of the streaming platform of stealing his story without any care or respect for him because he is just another “ni***r they can sell on the auction block”.
Instead of doing the right thing, which was to involve Mike Tyson and pay him, Hulu attempted to pay the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Dana White, instead. Dana White turned down the multimillion-dollar offer out of respect for Mike Tyson, who deserved to be paid more than he did.
Hulu executives had no justifiable excuse, so Mike Tyson’s statement gained a lot of support from his fans, who began boycotting the show before it was even available for streaming. Fans promised to cancel subscriptions and avoid watching the miniseries under the Instagram tag, #cancelhulu.
This controversy is the reason the Mike series performed below its full potential when it comes to ratings. However, the show got a lot of views for the same reason it received bad ratings. This might have increased the chances of the show being renewed for season 2, which is probably not the result Mike Tyson or any of his fans wanted from their battle against Hulu.
Mike Season 1 Rating
Mike Season 1 is rated 6.7/10 on IMDb. Only 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 69% on Google. These less-than-commendable ratings are due to the controversy surrounding the show on social media platforms.
Where to Watch Mike Season 1
You can stream Mike Season 1 on Hulu in the United States, and on Star in the UK. People in other countries can stream on these online platforms using a VPN.
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