King Bach to Play Carl Lewis in Ben Johnson Series
Satirical Mini-Series Set for Paramount+ and GameTV
From social media stardom to acting, Andrew Bachelor, known as King Bach, is set to portray sprinter Carl Lewis in Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story. The satirical mini-series will air on Paramount+ and GameTV.
Casting News
Bachelor will play the American track and field legend, Carl Lewis, who was a major rival to Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson (Shamier Anderson). Johnson infamously cheated his way to a gold medal in the 100-meter final at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Bachelor‘s previous acting credits include the Netflix comedy Coffee and Kareem, in which he starred alongside Taraji P. Henson, Ed Helms, and Betty Gilpin. He also appeared in the Netflix horror film The Babysitter: Killer Queen with Jenna Ortega, and the rom-com Holidate featuring Emma Roberts and Kristin Chenoweth.
A Full Circle Moment
Bachelor will draw upon his background as a sprinter at Florida State University, as well as his father’s athletic history in Jamaica, for the role. He said in a statement: “Carl Lewis was a hero of mine — not just because of his dominance, but because he excelled in multiple events, just like I did. The rivalry between Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis is one of the most iconic in sports history. To be a part of bringing that story to life is an incredible honor and a full-circle moment for me.”
Additional Cast Members
The six-part series, scheduled to air in Canada in 2026, features a large ensemble cast. Other actors include Mark McKinney, Karen Robinson, Ennis Esmer, Kristian Bruun, Malaika Hennie Hamadi, Ryan Belleville, Darryl Hinds, Lisa Horner, Emma Hunter, Suresh John, Jonathan Langdon, Gita Miller, Andrew Phung, and Dewshane Williams.
Behind the Scenes
New Metric Media and Bay Mills Studios are producing the Canadian miniseries. According to the producers, Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story is Canadian sprinter Johnson’s definitely-not-biased account of the doping controversy that rocked the 1988 Olympics when he tested positive for banned steroid use, going from hero to zero in 9.79 seconds in what some called “The Dirtiest Race in History”. The series takes a revealing and satirical look at the events surrounding the legendary race and the scandal behind the scandal.
Creative Team
With Ben Johnson’s participation, the series is created by Anthony Q. Farrell (The Office, Shelved, Run the Burbs), who also serves as showrunner. Farrell shares executive producer credits with Mark Montefiore, R.T. Thorne, Anderson, and Stephan James.
Lana Maclin will produce, and Max Wolfond is a supervising producer. Cory Bowles and Thorne will direct. According to a 2023 report, 57% of lead characters in Canadian TV shows were men, highlighting the need for diverse storytelling perspectives Newswire.ca.
