HBO Renews ‘Ballers,’ ‘Insecure’

HBO has greenlit new seasons for its original series Ballers and Insecure, the network said Thursday.

The sports-themed Ballers, which stars Dwayne Johnson and explores the glamorous and often cutthroat world of pro football through a group of past and present players striving to stay in the game, will return for its fifth season, according to the network. 

Insecure -- which stars Emmy-nominated actress Issa Rae and chronicles the friendship of two black women as they deal with their own real-life flaws while attempting to navigate different worlds -- will come back for a fourth season, according to HBO.

Ballers, created by Stephen Levinson, is executive produced by Johnson, Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, Dany Garcia, Peter Berg, Rob Weiss, Denis Biggs, Karyn McCarthy and Julian Farino. 

Insecure is produced and created by Rae, with Prentice Penny, Melina Matsouksa, Michael Rotenberg, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Jim Kleverweis and Dayna Lynne North serving as executive producers. 

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.