Netflix’s ‘HOOPS’ Trailer Reveals Release Date for Jake Johnson’s Animated Comedy

Hoops is the newest Netflix animated series, and fans now know when it will be released. The series, which will feature Jake Johnson as the lead voice, is set to hit Netflix on Aug. 21. Johnson will voice the character of Coach Ben Hopkins, who is a “hot-headed, foul-mouthed high school basketball coach who thinks turning around his godawful team will take him to the ‘big leagues,’” according to Deadline. Netflix revealed the release date in a teaser trailer released.

The rest of the cast includes Rob Riggle as Ben’s father Barry, Natasha Leggero as Shannon, Ben’s estranged wife, Ron Funches as Ron, the assistant coach and Ben’s best friend, Cleo King as Opal, the principal of Lenwood High School, and A.D. Miles as Matty, a 16-year-old seven-footer who is one of the players on the team. According to TV Line, Johnson is one of the executive producers, and Ben Hoffman creates the series.

Johnson, 42, is known for his work on the Fox series New Girl and is currently starring in the ABC series Stumptown. He has also starred in several films, including Jurassic World, Let’s Be Cops and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He’s also set to star in Jurassic World: Dominion, which will be released in 2021.

“I’ve got a theory with each character I play,” Johnson said in an interview with GQ back in 2018. “Regardless of the actions that they do, I, as Jake, have to like these people. And I have to say, ‘I wouldn’t mind hanging out with this guy for an hour and a half.’ Because if I don’t wanna hang out with him, then why would an audience member wanna hang out with him?”

One of Johnson’s most notable films is Digging for Fire, which had an all-star cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rosemarie DeWitt, Sam Rockwell, Brie Larson, and Sam Elliott. Johnson co-wrote the film, which is about finding an apparent dead body in Johnson’s backyard, which actually happened.

“In our heart of hearts, we believed it was just buried garbage, but we weren’t sure,” Johnson said when talking about digging in the backyard of a rental house with his friends to find the body. “We put the dirt back, and planted corn on top of it, and the corn grew perfectly.”