Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story is Canadian sprinter Johnson's definitely-not-biased account of the doping controversy that rocked the 1988 Olympics when he tested positive for banned steroid use, going from hero to zero in 9.79 seconds in what some called "The Dirtiest Race in History". The series takes a revealing and satirical look at the events surrounding the legendary race and the scandal behind the scandal.

Series details

• Title: Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy, Sports
• Premiere date: 2026-03-26
• Final broadcast date listed: 2026-04-23
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: GameTV
• Web channel listed by TVmaze: Paramount+
• Network country: Canada
• Typical episode runtime: 30 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 85547
• IMDb ID: tt28056869
• TVDB ID: 474948

Cast and credited roles

• Shamier Anderson — Ben Johnson
• King Bach — Carl Lewis
• Ennis Esmer — Jamie Astaphan
• Kristian Bruun — Charlie Francis
• Karen Robinson — Gloria Johnson
• Malaika Hennie-Hamadi — Khara
• Jonathan Langdon — Spike Fairweather
• Mark McKinney — Walter F. Essanpee
• Elvis Stojko — Ivan Torunn
• Leslie Adlam — Paulette
• Arnold Pinnock — Franklyn

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2026-03-26; final listed air date 2026-04-23; episode order: 6.

Source and licence

Adapted from Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.