Social media star-turned-actor Andrew Bachelor has joined Shamier Anderson in the upcoming Paramount+ and GameTV satirical mini-series Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story.
Bachelor, also known as King Bach, will play U.S. sprinter Carl Lewis, a fierce rival to Canadian Ben Johnson (Anderson) who in 1988 cheated his way to a gold medal in the 100 meter final at the Seoul Olympics.
Bachelor starred in Netflix comedy Coffee and Kareem, alongside Taraji P. Henson, Ed Helms and Betty Gilpin, the Netflix horror The Babysitter: Killer Queen with Jenna Ortega, and the romantic comedy Holidate with Emma Roberts and Kristin Chenoweth.
Bachelor will bring his real-life sprinting background while attending Florida State University, and that of his athlete father in Jamaica, to the role. “Carl Lewis was a hero of mine — not just because of his dominance, but because he excelled in multiple events, just like I did. The rivalry between Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis is one of the most iconic in sports history. To be a part of bringing that story to life is an incredible honor and a full-circle moment for me,” he said in a statement.
The six-parter, set to air on Paramount+ and GameTV in Canada in 2026, has also added Kids in the Hall alum Mark McKinney, Karen Robinson, Ennis Esmer, Kristian Bruun, Malaika Hennie Hamadi, Ryan Belleville, Darryl Hinds, Lisa Horner, Emma Hunter, Suresh John, Jonathan Langdon, Gita Miller, Andrew Phung and Dewshane Williams to the ensemble cast.
The Canadian miniseries is produced by New Metric Media and Bay Mills Studios. A synopsis from the producers reads: “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.”
The series, which has the participation of Ben Johnson, is created by Anthony Q. Farrell (The Office, Shelved, Run the Burbs), who serves as showrunner. He also shares executive producer credits with Mark Montefiore, R.T. Thorne, Anderson and Stephan James.
Lana Maclin will produce and Max Wolfond is a supervising producer. Cory Bowles and Thorne will direct.
