GameTV and Paramount+ line up for sports miniseries Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story

Canadian network GameTV and streamer Paramount+ have greenlit new original comedic miniseries Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story, inspired by a notorious Olympics drug scandal.

Shamier Anderson

O'Shane Howard

Produced by Toronto-based New Metric Media and Bay Mills Studios, the six-episode series will be premiere simultaneously on GameTV and Paramount+ in Canada next year.

Created by Anthony Q Farrell (The Office), it stars Shamier Anderson (John Wick 4) as Ben Johnson, the sprinter who won the 1988 Olympics 100m sprint final with a record time of 9.79 seconds – then was disqualified after testing positive for taking performance-enhancing steroids.

Hate the Player is based on the disgraced athlete’s own account of the doping controversy, taking a satirical look at the events surrounding the so-called ‘Dirtiest Race in History.’

Maria Donatelli, VP of programming at GameTV, said: “This marks an exciting milestone for GameTV, giving us the unique opportunity to present a major original Canadian programme offering on our network.

“Hate the Player embodies the bold, genre-busting storytelling we’re proud to champion. It’s a fearless, fast-paced comedy that dares to reimagine a moment in Canadian sports history with sharp wit and wild energy.”

Vanessa Case, VP of content at Paramount+ and Pluto TV Canada, said. “This collaboration marks an exciting and innovative model for us – a streamer joining forces with a linear broadcaster to deliver compelling Canadian content to even broader audiences and