‘Ballers’ Season 4 Takes Its Business to Sunny California

Alci Rengifo

The fourth season of HBO’s “Ballers” is about as self-interested as its characters. This is a show that at the moment caters solely to those loyal enough to its ethos to stay interested in the latest plot. For this new round of business deals, business calls and strolls in suits, the action moves from Florida to California, trading in flashy Miami for flashy Los Angeles. But what it finds in L.A. is a bare bones plot and character developments made watchable by decent performances. Dwayne Johnson has always had good timing as a comedian, and it is nice to see him do something other than climb burning buildings in Hong Kong, but in this season he truly carries the show.

After many trials and tribulations in the world of Miami sports financial management, Spencer Strasmore (Johnson) and Joe Krutel (Rob Corddry) chase a new business opportunity in Los Angeles. Their target is an agency discovered by Joe representing X-Games athletes run by the eccentric Lance Klians (Russell Brand). Lance sells them on the idea of a major new surfing star with major endorsers like Coca-Cola. Spencer and Joe jump right in, investing full throttle and bringing along clients. But the relationship proves pretty rocky when Lance starts getting out of control and spending capital like there’s no tomorrow. When Spencer and Joe decide to cut him loose, war breaks out. Meanwhile Ricky (John David Washington) is struggling with trying to decide what to do with his career as he buys a new, expensive house and feels the urge to get back into playing football. Jason (Troy Garity) is running around trying to make more deals but gets paranoid when he discovers his new girlfriend might have slept with Tiger Woods. Reggie (London Brown) and Vernon (Donovan W. Carter) make their own way to L.A. to revisit their old high school, only to discover that with fame even old acquaintances will start seeing green.

“Ballers” season four is an attempt at revamping the show as it starts to lag in original avenues to follow. For the showrunners the big question is how to carry on a series about sports representation and money management past a fourth season and keep it interesting. Loyal fans will get the usual badass attitude from Dwayne Johnson’s Spencer, and we can still sense Johnson enjoying himself in this role. Free from driving fast cars off buildings or battling giant crocodiles, Johnson is able to bask in playing a high roller who charms his way out of trouble. The flaw here is that the dilemmas and conflicts are not terribly interesting unless you’re religiously devoted to “Ballers.” The whole Lance storyline has some promise but quickly deflates, turning into a pretty simple standoff where he tries to ruin Spencer’s reputation with important clients after he’s fired. There are moments of enticing humor, such as when Spencer debates with Coke representatives over changing the skin color of an athlete for ads. But there’s not much else to it and it really carries on because the actors are good. Russell Brand it must be said is vivacious lunacy as Lance, perfectly creating a stereotypical California beach, bong-puffing entrepreneur. Another interesting storyline involves Spencer meeting the mother of a potential high school football prospect. There is chemistry, but it gets lost within all of the financial cutthroat material. But maybe that’s what fans of “Ballers” want all along, the show’s amalgam of sports and business.

The other characters have storylines that are not fully fleshed out, but still feature some good moments. Reggie and Vernon return to their Compton high school and reunite with their old principal, who immediately starts being too vocal about the building’s shoddy state. Reggie is still processing his high school issue so he just scoffs, while Vernon suddenly pledges $1 million during a pep rally. This is one of the funniest moments in the new season. Ricky’s own storyline is essentially just him walking around in circles, trying to avoid the issue of returning to football with Amber (Brittany S. Hall). Jason’s whole jealousy angle is abandoned half-way through the season, but it also offers a decent laugh or two when he admits to the insecurities of knowing your girlfriend has slept with the mighty Tiger Woods. These small moments make season four watchable, even when its main theme fizzles out.

The irony of moving “Ballers” to L.A. is that the scenery and tone change from the earlier seasons, but at heart this is a city as fast-paced and superficial as Miami, so these characters are simply wearing old shoes in new sand. Dwayne Johnson again proves he has the presence to carry a show. But when it’s all about business, the question inevitably rises if there’s anything more.

“Ballers” season four premieres Aug. 12 and airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.