Harlem Globetrotters TV Shows and Movies in the Making

The Harlem Globetrotters want to become a true multiplatform media brand again.

The exhibition basketball team continues to take on their arch-enemies, the Washington Generals, in live games held around the world. They are now a regular fixture on the Saturday morning children's program again, with the series in its third season. Harlem Globetrotters: Play it Forward is scheduled to air on October 5 on NBC. Kenny Smith, the NBA on TNT analyst, will present the new season of the show, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Harlem Globetrotters president Keith Dawkins says he's just beginning to build media attention for the team, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026.

“We’ve missed out on generations of our audience over the last 20-30 years because of this ‘tour-only’ mentality. The only way to reach the Globetrotters is to do about 250 tour stops in North America and another 150 around the world,” Dawkins says. THR. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a powerful part of our brand, but it has its limitations. It has limitations in terms of consumer touchpoints, not being in retail, not being on someone’s content platform or streaming platform, gaming, digital social media, the list goes on.”

So Dawkins is changing that narrative, leaning on his experience at Nickelodeon and Viacom to build a flywheel that includes a flood of original content, including long-form and short-form documentary projects, feature films and “animated series with best-in-class partners,” all of which can sit alongside NBC’s Saturday morning series. Dawkins says the development slate is now 20-40 projects deep.

“If we can do those deals and market those properties across different platforms, it will help strengthen the brand and boost other parts of the business as well,” Dawkins said.

Streaming services like Netflix, Peacock and Prime Video have all aggressively pursued sports content, not just rights to live matches but also documentaries and series that explore sports-related topics. Dawkins argues that the Globetrotters fit neatly into that genre.

“There are documentaries about Elvis and Michael Jackson and Tina Turner and Wu Tang Clan and things like that, there should be stuff about the Globetrotters too,” he adds, saying about Play it forward “To be able to reach 800,000 to a million people every week through the show's broadcasts on NBC, Telemundo, Cozi, Peacock and YouTube is just phenomenal.”

The NBC morning show, which averages about 900,000 viewers, is a throwback to the basketball brand's heyday, when animated shows featuring the stars were a staple of Saturday morning TV. Today, it serves as a gateway for fans to the Globetrotters, and a way for the talent to shine on the court off the court.

“It gets people to know our stars, who our talent is, what the Globetrotters have done, the way we operate as a company, it builds brand awareness and brand recognition and creates conversion, where a percentage of those people think, you know what? The Globetrotters are back, I see them more positively. I’m more likely to buy a ticket for the tour or other important things,” Dawkins says.

For a brand that will be turning 100 in two years, it feels like the goals it pursues are closer to those of a startup.

“I’m old enough to remember the Globetrotters on TV and when they were relevant in that way, and I was a kid, and the impact on me personally back then, right?” Dawkins says. “I think that’s the beauty of it for me, the opportunity of having this almost 100-year-old brand with a massive addressable audience, is that there’s something in there for every single one of them that we should be telling stories to… We have this great product, massive brand awareness, tremendous equity, and it makes people feel a certain way, right, joy and happiness and possibility.”