The Nets and owner Joe Tsai are coming to the screen.
Comedian Ronny Chieng is going to play the general manager of the Brooklyn Nets in as-yet unnamed comedy being developed for Hulu, according to Variety. The story is inspired by — although not about — Tsai, who is the owner of the Nets and billionaire co-founder of Alibaba.
The NBA will have to sign off on the production, but that seems likely, as are cameos by Nets players. Brooklyn is already cooperating in the production, working with Melvin Mar (and Jake Kasdan) on the concept but not actively involved in the scripting or other aspects of the production, according to NetsDaily.
Mar and Kasdan were producers on “Fresh off the Boat.” Chieng is a correspondent on “The Daily Show” — where he gave an expletive-laden criticism of a Jesse Watters clip on Fox News that many saw as racist — and a comedian who has done both standup and appeared in movies like “Crazy Rich Asians” in 2018 and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in 2021.
Tsai met and hosted the 36-year-old Chieng at Barclays Center in December 2019, tweeting about his appreciation of the actor. He convinced Chieng and “Shang Chi” star Simu Liu to try to get into the NBA All-Star celebrity game.
“Asians generally are not really seen in Hollywood, or in popular media,” Tsai told The Post at the start of this season.
He and the Nets could help partner with Chieng to do their part in changing that.