Toronto — Social-media phenomenon Andrew “King Bach” Bachelor has signed on to portray U.S. sprint icon Carl Lewis in “Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story,” a six-episode satirical miniseries now filming in Toronto for GameTV and Paramount+ Canada. Created by BAFTA-winner Anthony Q. Farrell and produced by New Metric Media with Bay Mills Studios, the project revisits the infamous 1988 Olympic doping scandal through the eyes of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, played by Shamier Anderson.
Producers say principal photography began on 20 June and the series is set to premiere in early 2026, marking one of the first collaborations in which a domestic streamer and a linear network will share a simultaneous launch window. The creative team includes executive producers Farrell, Anderson, Stephan James and New Metric chief Mark Montefiore, with directors R.T. Thorne and Cory Bowles aiming for a tone that mixes sports biopic with irreverent comedy.
“For someone who grew up around track and field, this is in my blood,” Bachelor said, noting that his father sprinted in Jamaica and that he himself ran for Florida State University. Calling Lewis “a hero” and the Lewis-Johnson rivalry “one of the most iconic in sports history,” the actor described the role as a “full-circle moment.”
GameTV vice-president of programming Maria Donatelli called the commission “a fearless, fast-paced comedy that dares to re-imagine a moment in Canadian sports history with sharp wit and wild energy,” stressing its importance as the channel’s first major original scripted series.
Johnson’s 9.79-second Olympic victory in Seoul was wiped from the record books after he tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, a watershed moment that forced the International Olympic Committee to toughen anti-doping protocols and spawned documentaries such as ESPN’s “9.79*.” Anti-doping advocates have since warned that glamorising the saga could trivialise the long-term damage performance-enhancing drugs inflict on athletes and the integrity of the Games.
Producers counter that Johnson himself is participating, and that the scripted approach will expose what they call “the scandal behind the scandal,” including allegations of widespread steroid use in the era. Alongside Bachelor, the newly announced cast features Canadian comedy veterans Mark McKinney, Karen Robinson and Ennis Esmer, with cameos promised from WWE star Chelsea Green and NASCAR driver Amber Balcaen. International distribution will be handled by New Metric Media.
