Bill Simmons Launching ‘Grantland Basketball Show’

Grantland editor-in-chief Bill Simmons is getting his own one-hour series on ESPN.

The network said Tuesday that it will launch The Grantland Basketball Show on Oct. 21 at 8 p.m., which will have the popular ESPN personality facilitate discussion on NBA topics with a rotating group of Grantland commentators and other personalities.

As part of the deal, Simmons will leave the network’s NBA pregame show NBA Countdown, which he had been a part of for the past two seasons.

Up to 18 one-hour, primetime episodes of The Grantland Basketball Show will air throughout the NBA season on ESPN, including eight during the regular-season and eight during the NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals. Other episodes are planned for the NBA Draft and the NBA’s free agency period.

The show will be produced out of ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center, with elements being featured on ESPN platforms like SportsCenter and Grantland.

TheGrantland Basketball Show will be one of the first projects from ESPN’s new Exit 31 production studio.