# ‘The Greatest’ Creator Ben Watkins Cast Muhammad Ali by Putting His Final Four in the Ring

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-greatest-creator-ben-watkins-cast-muhammad-ali-by-putting-his-final-four-in-the-ring/
- Published: 2026-11-05T15:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T17:06:14+00:00
- Original publisher: The Hollywood Reporter
- Original article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/the-greatest-ben-watkins-casting-muhammad-ali-interview-1236747835/
- Topics: Entertainment, TV

## Key points

- Ben Watkins has made a character-led series about Muhammad Ali.
- The first eight episodes arrived on Prime Video on 4 November.
- Ali’s widow and estate authorised the series.

## Summary

Ben Watkins developed *The Greatest*, a planned three-season series about Muhammad Ali, from a lifelong fascination with the boxer. Its first eight episodes were released on Prime Video on 4 November. Watkins says he wanted a character study that could stand on its own, rather than a conventional biopic built around famous fights and events already covered in documentaries.

The article traces Watkins’s interest to a children’s biography and a childhood visit to Ali’s Chicago-area home, where he hoped to catch a glimpse of him. The series is authorised by Ali’s estate, with his widow, Lonnie Ali, serving as an executive producer, a relationship Watkins says he considered carefully. Actor Michael B. Jordan and his production company, Outlier Society, became involved before Watkins took on the project.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.