The Shop-The Daily Ledger

The Shop: Uninterrupted, or simply The Shop, is an American television talk show created by Paul Rivera. It stars professional basketball star LeBron James and businessman Maverick Carter, who alongside guests have conversations and debates in a barbershop. The series premiered on HBO in the United States on August 28, 2018. On February 28, 2022, the series was renewed for a fifth season and moved to YouTube.

Production

Conception and development for Uninterrupted

In December 2014, James' longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter launched Uninterrupted (stylized in all caps), a platform designed for athletes to give testimonials about their experiences. Uninterrupted was created and produced by James' SpringHill Entertainment production company, run by Carter, and hosted on Turner Sports' Bleacher Report website. Athletes that made early contributions to Uninterrupted included Rob Gronkowski, Draymond Green, and Ronda Rousey. In December 2015, Warner Bros. and Turner Sports invested $15.8 million in the platform. By March 2017, Uninterrupted was described by Forbes as a digital media company.

The Shop

James spoke on how The Shop became an idea saying, "when I was a kid, being in barbershops meant listening to adults talk about sports, clothing, politics, music, everything happened in the shop. It was so real and so candid — no one had a sense of, well I can't be myself here." Randy Mims and Paul Rivera, both business partners of James' and Carter's, first proposed The Shop.

The Shop

In February 2016, during the NBA's All-Star Weekend, the first iteration of The Shop was filmed in a Toronto-based barbershop for the Uninterrupted website. The following year, another episode of The Shop was filmed in a New Orleans-based barbershop. James and Carter were joined by Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green, Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz, Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams, former New York Knicks All-Star Charles Oakley, and businessman Steve Stoute. Stoute moderated the group's discussion, which notably generated James detailing how his mother did not want him to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014. The filming premiered on the Uninterrupted platform on June 9, 2017, coinciding with Game 4 of the NBA Finals between James' Cavaliers and Green's Warriors. The New Orleans episode was optioned by ESPN as a one-off.

The Shop

HBO iteration

Following the New Orleans episode, talks with HBO began in earnest. HBO then ordered a handful of episodes of The Shop, with the episode order being left vague due to James' primary focus on his basketball career. The deal with HBO did not include airing the Toronto or New Orleans episodes; the first episode for HBO was filmed in West Hollywood's Barber Surgeons Guild, in July 2018. The episode guest starred New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., rapper Snoop Dogg, Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker, comedian Jon Stewart, New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, and Green, alongside James and Carter. The episode premiered on HBO on August 28. Further episodes aired later throughout the year. The second episode was filmed in a Washington, D.C. hair salon, which houses a separate cuttery. This episode is notable for the guest appearance from rapper Drake, who spoke on the personal troubles between him and fellow musician Kanye West. Drake was honest and offered insight to the fight that normally would not have been made known. The third and fourth episodes were also filmed in Los Angeles, with the latter notable for wide receiver Antonio Brown publicly musing on his dissatisfaction with his role on the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as with his heated relationship with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The second season of The Shop premiered on March 1, 2019, with the premiere episode being filmed in Charlotte, North Carolina, during the NBA's 2019 All-Star Weekend.

The fourth season premiered on May 28, 2021.