Muhammad Ali may be the most filmed athlete who ever lived. Every fight, every press conference, every defiant declaration has been pored over, replayed, and mythologised. So the question facing Prime Video’s new eight-part series, The Greatest, is a daunting one: what is left to say? The answer, according to its creators, is the man behind the legend—the young Cassius Clay who had to become Muhammad Ali.
The series arrives on November 4, 2026, with all eight episodes dropping simultaneously in more than 240 countries and territories. It is the first scripted production fully authorised by Ali’s estate, with his widow, Lonnie Ali, serving as an executive producer alongside Michael B. Jordan. Created and showrun by Ben Watkins (Cross), it stars newcomer Jaalen Best as Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, supported by an ensemble that includes Omari Hardwick as Cassius Clay Sr., Dana Gourrier as Odessa Clay, Kai Parham as Rudy Clay, Amin Joseph as Sonny Liston, Giovanni Ribisi as Angelo Dundee, and Michael Ealy as Malcolm X.
But can it capture the legend? The early reviews suggest it just might—by refusing to try to capture all of him at once.
The Approach: A Four-Year Window, Not a Lifetime
The most significant creative decision in The Greatest is its scope. Instead of attempting to compress Ali’s entire life into eight episodes, the series focuses on a pivotal four-year window: from his gold-medal victory at the 1960 Rome Olympics to his stunning upset of Sonny Liston in 1964 to claim the heavyweight championship of the world.
It is a period of immense personal and professional transformation. Clay returns from Rome to the segregated reality of Louisville, Kentucky—a teenager in his parents’ humble household, brimming with talent and bravado, but still negotiating the limitations imposed on him by race and class. Over those four years, he navigates his relationship with his father, his growing connection to the Nation of Islam, his friendship with Malcolm X, and his decision to reject the name “Cassius Clay” and become Muhammad Ali.
By ending where most previous biopics begin—the Liston fight—the series traces how the legend was crafted, not what the legend did. Michael Mann’s 2001 film Ali started with the Liston fight and covered the decade that followed. Regina King’s One Night in Miami imagined the afterparty of that same victory. The Greatest asks a different question: what made that victory possible? What made him possible?
The Star: A Newcomer Who Evokes the Man, Not the Myth
At the centre of the series is Jaalen Best, a relative newcomer whose performance has drawn widespread praise. The reviews describe him as “an ideal young Cassius Clay”—a bold boxing phenom who balances the brash fighter demanding the spotlight with the introspective individual left behind when the crowds depart.
Time noted that Best’s Ali “reads as a significantly younger man” than the versions played by Will Smith or Eli Goree, and that this freshness makes his “astonishing self-possession” seem even more remarkable. TheWrap called his portrayal “more than a collection of quirks pulled from an impersonation kit,” emerging as “a true talent to watch”.
The supporting cast has been equally well-received. TheWrap praised Omari Hardwick’s Cassius Clay Sr. for avoiding “broad caricature” and finding “the complexity in a father whose pride in his son’s achievements exists alongside his own shortcomings and frustrations”. Michael Ealy’s Malcolm X “stands comfortably alongside Denzel Washington’s” in Spike Lee’s 1992 film. And Dana Gourrier’s Odessa Clay is described as “excellent”—a domestic servant who wants nothing more than to give her children a better life.
The Challenge: Hagiography vs. Honesty
The involvement of Lonnie Ali and Michael B. Jordan—both of whom have deep personal connections to Ali’s legacy—raises an obvious concern: will the series default to hagiography? Time acknowledged this skepticism directly, noting that projects with such close estate involvement “can default to hagiography”.
But the review concluded that creator Ben Watkins “doesn’t dodge the tougher aspects of his subject’s life”. The series explores the tensions within the Clay family, the complexity of Ali’s father, and the contradictions between American ideals and American realities—seen in a flashback to Emmett Till’s murder and in a scene where Clay is refused service at a lunch counter despite ordering a hamburger named in his honour.
The series also does not shy away from the Nation of Islam’s role in Ali’s life, or the controversy surrounding his name change. It presents these not as obstacles to be overcome, but as integral parts of his journey toward self-determination.
The verdict from Time: The Greatest “understands why Muhammad Ali became a legend”. And that understanding comes not from repeating the highlights, but from showing the young man who had to fight for the right to define himself.
What the Reviews Say
The critical response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Time called it “stylistically conventional yet unusually insightful,” praising Best’s performance and the series’ focus on the formation of Ali’s character.
TheWrap declared it “one of the year’s best TV dramas,” an “exceptional journey through the boxing legend’s early years”.
IMDb’s review roundup described it as “an extraordinary knockout”.
The series has been praised for giving the narrative “breathing room” to explore Ali’s private life—something the two-to-three-hour film format could never do. It is, as The Week noted, a “deeply intimate exploration of his life as a man, husband, father, brother, and son,” with unprecedented access to private family archives and personal perspectives.
Can The Greatest capture
the legend? The honest answer is that it doesn’t try to. It captures something more valuable: the process by which a legend was made.
Muhammad Ali was not born the icon we remember. He was a teenager from Louisville with a big mouth and a bigger talent, navigating a country that told him he was less than equal. The Greatest shows that journey—the fights in the ring, the fights outside it, and the quiet moments in between that shaped the man who would become the most recognisable athlete on Earth.
It is the first authorized scripted series about Ali’s life. That access could have been a trap. Instead, it seems to have given the creators the confidence to tell a story that is not just a celebration, but an explanation.
The Greatest premieres November 4 on Prime Video. All eight episodes will be available to stream.
