LeBron James adds Showtime documentary to TV portfolio

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- LeBron James has yet to play a minute for the Los Angeles Lakers, yet the NBA superstar is already busy in Hollywood.

James is behind a three-part documentary series, "Shut Up and Dribble," announced Monday by Showtime.

Set to debut in October, the same month James suits up for his new team, the series looks at the changing role of athletes in the current political and cultural climate against the backdrop of the NBA.

Its title comes from a comment Fox News host Laura Ingraham made about James in February when she sought to rebuke him for talking politics during an interview.

James is the executive producer of the series along with business partner Maverick Carter and agent Rich Paul. Gotham Chopra, who directed Showtime's "Kobe Bryant's Muse" in 2015, helmed the project.

"It's really an exploration of how basketball is truly America's game and the NBA has been a vessel for black athletes to claim pieces of the American dream," Chopra told ESPN.

The series traces the modern history of the league and its players, starting with the 1976 merger of the freewheeling American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association, exploring how the top players have expanded their reach off the court in fields such as business and fashion while becoming icons in the process.

James has another show, "The Shop," debuting Aug. 28 on HBO, in which he leads conversation and debate among his guests in barbershops around the country.

James found himself drawn into politics last week when President Donald Trump unleashed an attack on him via Twitter after an interview aired with CNN anchor Don Lemon in which James deemed Trump divisive.

Although James has long been a Trump critic, calling the president "U bum" in a 2017 tweet, Trump's tweet was the president's first attack on the player, who just opened a school for underprivileged children in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.