The first question with the Prime Video series The Greatest is why tell the story of Muhammad Ali again? What can this project do that hasn’t been done in the numerous other portrayals of Ali’s life? But the format of a TV show, and the storytelling of Ben Watkins, makes this version deeper and more engaging than before.
Ali is indeed one of the great sports figures in history, and it’s not as if the previous adaptations of his life were somehow lacking. Will Smith was an Oscar nominee for his work in the 2001 movie Ali. But Watkins, who’s been finding ways to dig deeper into the procedural format with Prime Video’s hit book adaptation Cross, applies that same ability to a true story. Yes, this show has all the feel-good hallmarks of any sports movie, but then there’s a whole lot more.
The Greatest shares its title with the 1977 film in which Ali portrayed himself, which in turn was based on his 1975 autobiography. One can’t help but think that was an intentional choice. Like the movie, the show starts with his win at the 1960 Summer Olympics. But while Watkins follows the same broad strokes of telling a legend’s origin story, having more than a movie’s time to do it allows him to provide more detail and context. He can sit in a moment or even a small clue—for example, in the sequence of Ali’s victory parade, the camera repeatedly angles itself so viewers can see signs of businesses stating that they only cater to white patrons. So many things about this show feel deliberate and thought-out. The audience gets to live as Cassius Clay, not just watch his life story unfold.
Naturally, that requires a charismatic actor at the show’s core. Jaalen Best is not a known name (but he will be after this)—and that makes his performance even better. The audience isn’t looking at a star and creating their preconceptions of how that person would be in the role. They’re discovering a new talent, and that’s fitting for a show about an athlete discovering his voice. Best brings an earnest quality to so many scenes, even after the early stuff of Cassius being wide-eyed and hopeful has passed. The audience can feel how much Cassius wants to be a success, not only for himself but for others around him, and Best is perfect at conveying the growth of his confidence and his identity. Which leads into the biggest idea at the heart of The Greatest: what does being “the greatest” actually mean?
What Watkins puts forward is that it’s not just being the best athletically; it’s about being the greatest possible version of yourself. Of course every sports movie explores the hardships that a hero goes through to get to the top; that’s what people come to see. But the impact of Muhammad Ali was about a lot more than boxing, and he was impacted by others in a lot more ways than his career, too. Because this is a series, these journeys and the questions they pose have more room to breathe. And that makes this more than just the rise of a champion.
It’s also fun to see actors that the audience does know, in ways that they’re not used to seeing them. Omari Hardwick is miles away from Power in his portrayal of Cassius’ alcoholic, abusive father. Giovanni Ribisi follows up the high-energy work he did in American Hostage with a performance here that’s the exact opposite: measured, stable, the perfect counterbalance to Best’s impatient Cassius. Michael Ealy is an inspired choice to portray Malcolm X; his work brings back reminders of the ideological exploration he did in his breakout role in Showtime’s Sleeper Cell. And that’s Van Helsing and Snowpiercer‘s Aleks Paunovic in a supporting role that viewers won’t expect from him. Any time that a TV show can get something new out of talented actors, it’s always worth a watch just for that feeling of excitement.
Two of the producers on The Greatest are Lonnie Ali, Muhammad Ali’s wife, and Michael B. Jordan. That says a lot about the quality of the show. To have Lonnie’s involvement speaks to the fact that Watkins and his team are taking the show seriously, wanting it to be authentic. Audiences further know from the Creed films that Jordan knows how to tell a sports story that is also a human story. He may not be the star of this one, but for him to be involved in it is also a pretty strong endorsement. Most importantly, while everyone’s love and respect for Ali comes through, The Greatest doesn’t feel like a one-sided vanity project. Watkins and his creative team tell the totality of Ali’s story, including the flaws, and the show gives space to how those flaws affected his life. Everyone knows Muhammad Ali the boxing hero, but with The Greatest, Ben Watkins captures what made him stand out as a person, too.
The Greatest premieres Nov. 4, 2026 on Prime Video. Photo Credit: Ian Watson/Courtesy of Prime Video.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
