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

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.