Ball in the Family

Ball in the Family is an American reality television series that premiered on August 29, 2017 on Facebook Watch. The show documents the personal and professional lives of LaVar Ball's family of basketball players. The sixth season premiered on October 18, 2020.^[1]

Ball in the Family
Genre	Reality
Starring	Lonzo Ball LiAngelo Ball LaMelo Ball LaVar Ball Tina Ball
Opening theme	"We Ballin" by Eric Tucker, Jay Vincent B, Sean Donatello
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	116
Production
Executive producers	Gil Goldschien Julie Pizzi Farnaz Farjam Steve Ezell
Producers	LaVar Ball Tina Ball
Production locations	Los Angeles, California Chino Hills, California Prienai, Lithuania Birštonas, Lithuania Kaunas, Lithuania New Orleans, Louisiana
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	14–26 minutes
Production company	Bunim/Murray Productions
Original release
Network	Facebook Watch
Release	August 29, 2017 (2017-08-29) – December 20, 2020 (2020-12-20)

Production

Development

On July 5, 2017, it was announced that Facebook had greenlit a then-untitled reality show starring the Ball family. The number and length of episodes had yet to be determined at the time.^[2][3] On October 17, 2017, it was announced that Facebook had renewed the show for a second season.^[4] On May 14, 2018, it was reported that the show had been renewed for a third season.^[5]

The show is referred to internally by Facebook as one of their "hero shows" alongside other programs such as Strangers and Returning the Favor.^[6]

Music

The series' theme song was "Big Bag" by Wes Period. A friend of Period's was working with the Ball family to find music for the show and told him about it. Period came to them with his song and they told him that they would use in the end credits of an episode. Instead, the producers of the series ended up making it the show's official theme.^[7]

Cast

Main

• Lonzo Ball, the eldest son in the Ball family, and current guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers^[8]
• LiAngelo Ball, the middle son in the Ball family, and current guard for Astros de Jalisco
• LaMelo Ball, the youngest son in the Ball family, and current guard for the Charlotte Hornets
• LaVar Ball, the patriarch of the Ball family, owner of Big Baller Brand, and founder of Junior Basketball Association
• Tina Ball, the matriarch of the Ball family

Recurring

• Denise Garcia, Lonzo's ex girlfriend and mother of his daughter
• Zoey Ball, Lonzo and Denise's baby daughter
• Alan Foster (seasons 1–4), LaVar's former business partner
• Darren "DMO" Moore, Lonzo's manager and family friend
• Horace, family friend
• Noni Slatinsky, Tina's mother
• Robert Slatinsky, Tina's father
• Anderson Ball, LaVar's father
• Maria Ball, LaVar's mother
• LaValle Ball, LaVar's brother
• Ren Ball, LaVar's brother
• 'Dre Ball, LaVar's brother
• Jhaylen Ball, LaVar's niece
• Andre Ball, LaVar's nephew

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	10		August 29, 2017 (2017-08-29)	October 29, 2017 (2017-10-29)
2	24		November 26, 2017 (2017-11-26)	May 6, 2018 (2018-05-06)
3	24		June 10, 2018 (2018-06-10)	November 18, 2018 (2018-11-18)
4	24		December 9, 2018 (2018-12-09)	June 16, 2019 (2019-06-16)
5	24		August 18, 2019 (2019-08-18)	February 23, 2020 (2020-02-23)
6	10		October 18, 2020 (2020-10-18)	December 20, 2020 (2020-12-20)

Season 1 (2017)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date
1	1	"Bittersweet Victory"	August 29, 2017 (2017-08-29)
2	2	"Forging a Path"	August 31, 2017 (2017-08-31)
3	3	"Wild Boy"	September 10, 2017 (2017-09-10)
4	4	"All About the "W""	September 17, 2017 (2017-09-17)
5	5	"The Making of a Leader"	September 24, 2017 (2017-09-24)
6	6	"It Ain't Easy Being Zo"	October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)
7	7	"Back on Track"	October 8, 2017 (2017-10-08)
8	8	"Big Ballin’ in Hawaii: Part 1"	October 15, 2017 (2017-10-15)
9	9	"Big Ballin’ in Hawaii: Part 2"	October 22, 2017 (2017-10-22)
10	10	"Happy Birthday, Big Boy"	October 29, 2017 (2017-10-29)

Season 2 (2017–18)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date
11	1	"School's Out"	November 26, 2017 (2017-11-26)
12	2	"The First 48 Hrs."	December 3, 2017 (2017-12-03)
13	3	"Mr. Sweet Tooth"	December 10, 2017 (2017-12-10)
14	4	"Happy Birthday, Lonzo!"	December 17, 2017 (2017-12-17)
15	5	"Gelo Has Been Detained"	December 24, 2017 (2017-12-24)
16	6	"A Mother's Love"	December 31, 2017 (2017-12-31)
17	7	"Gelo's Fate"	January 7, 2018 (2018-01-07)
18	8	"A Very Thankful Ballsgiving"	January 14, 2018 (2018-01-14)
19	9	"Gelo's Birthday Wish"	January 21, 2018 (2018-01-21)
20	10	"The Future of the Ball Boys"	January 28, 2018 (2018-01-28)
21	11	"Melo and Gelo Go Pro"	February 4, 2018 (2018-02-04)
22	12	"Strong Moves"	February 11, 2018 (2018-02-11)
23	13	"A Big Baller Christmas"	February 18, 2018 (2018-02-18)
24	14	"Welcome to Lithuania!"	February 25, 2018 (2018-02-25)
25	15	"Fully Committed"	March 4, 2018 (2018-03-04)
26	16	"The Two-Year Plan"	March 11, 2018 (2018-03-11)
27	17	"Meeting Halfway"	March 18, 2018 (2018-03-18)
28	18	"Tina's Courage"	March 25, 2018 (2018-03-25)
29	19	"Baby Baller Alert!"	April 1, 2018 (2018-04-01)
30	20	"London Bound"	April 8, 2018 (2018-04-08)
31	21	"Fatherly Advice"	April 15, 2018 (2018-04-15)
32	22	"Naming The Next Generation"	April 22, 2018 (2018-04-22)
33	23	"Working Vacation"	April 29, 2018 (2018-04-29)
34	24	"Draft Eligible"	May 6, 2018 (2018-05-06)

Season 3 (2018)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date
35	1	"Izzy's Arrival"	June 10, 2018 (2018-06-10)
36	2	"The Decision"	June 17, 2018 (2018-06-17)
37	3	"Denise's Birthday Getaway"	June 24, 2018 (2018-06-24)
38	4	"The Home Stretch"	July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)
39	5	"Farewell, Lithuania"	July 8, 2018 (2018-07-08)
40	6	"Home Sweet Home"	July 15, 2018 (2018-07-15)
41	7	"Welcome To The Family"	July 22, 2018 (2018-07-22)
42	8	"Feelin' The Pressure"	July 29, 2018 (2018-07-29)
43	9	"National Spotlight"	August 5, 2018 (2018-08-05)
44	10	"Last Straw"	August 12, 2018 (2018-08-12)
45	11	"Making History"	August 19, 2018 (2018-08-19)
46	12	"Turn It Up"	August 26, 2018 (2018-08-26)
47	13	"The Big Day"	September 2, 2018 (2018-09-02)
48	14	"Growing Pains"	September 9, 2018 (2018-09-09)
49	15	"Blow It Up"	September 16, 2018 (2018-09-16)
50	16	"Reversal of Fortune"	September 23, 2018 (2018-09-23)
51	17	"The Birth of Baby Zoey"	September 30, 2018 (2018-09-30)
52	18	"Baby Phobia"	October 7, 2018 (2018-10-07)
53	19	"Hopes and Dreams"	October 14, 2018 (2018-10-14)
54	20	"Championship On The Line"	October 21, 2018 (2018-10-21)
55	21	"Melo's Acting Out"	October 28, 2018 (2018-10-28)
56	22	"Bora Bora Bound"	November 4, 2018 (2018-11-04)
57	23	"Last Days in Paradise"	November 11, 2018 (2018-11-11)
58	24	"The Break-up"	November 18, 2018 (2018-11-18)

Season 4 (2018–19)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date
59	1	"Relationship Status"	December 9, 2018 (2018-12-09)
60	2	"Collision Course"	December 16, 2018 (2018-12-16)
61	3	"The Slap Heard Around the World"	December 23, 2018 (2018-12-23)
62	4	"Baby Momma Drama"	December 30, 2018 (2018-12-30)
63	5	"Denise is Moving to LA"	January 6, 2019 (2019-01-06)
64	6	"Second Chances"	January 13, 2019 (2019-01-13)
65	7	"Kanye West Is In The House"	January 20, 2019 (2019-01-20)
66	8	"Melo Bomb"	January 27, 2019 (2019-01-27)
67	9	"Hello Goodbye"	February 3, 2019 (2019-02-03)
68	10	"Fresh Start"	February 10, 2019 (2019-02-10)
69	11	"Little Big Head"	February 17, 2019 (2019-02-17)
70	12	"Gelo's Big Decision"	February 24, 2019 (2019-02-24)
71	13	"Lonzo and Denise Back Together"	March 3, 2019 (2019-03-03)
72	14	"Long Distance Christmas"	March 10, 2019 (2019-03-10)
73	15	"Home Away From Home"	April 14, 2019 (2019-04-14)
74	16	"Meet The Parents"	April 21, 2019 (2019-04-21)
75	17	"Talk To Me"	April 28, 2019 (2019-04-28)
76	18	"Team Tina"	May 5, 2019 (2019-05-05)
77	19	"A Storm Is Coming"	May 12, 2019 (2019-05-12)
78	20	"Two's Company, Three's A Crowd"	May 19, 2019 (2019-05-19)
79	21	"Road Blocks"	May 26, 2019 (2019-05-26)
80	22	"End of an Era"	June 2, 2019 (2019-06-02)
81	23	"The Three Amigos"	June 9, 2019 (2019-06-09)
82	24	"An Enemy Within"	June 16, 2019 (2019-06-16)

Season 5 (2019–20)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date
83	1	"The Great Divide"	August 18, 2019 (2019-08-18)
84	2	"Housewarming Jitters"	August 25, 2019 (2019-08-25)
85	3	"Striking a Balance"	September 1, 2019 (2019-09-01)
86	4	"Tripped Up"	September 8, 2019 (2019-09-08)
87	5	"In or Out?"	September 15, 2019 (2019-09-15)
88	6	"Traded"	September 22, 2019 (2019-09-22)
89	7	"Zo's Big News, Melo's Surprise Move"	September 29, 2019 (2019-09-29)
90	8	"Hooked on a Feeling"	October 6, 2019 (2019-10-06)
91	9	"Ready, Set, Pro!"	October 13, 2019 (2019-10-13)
92	10	"Do I Stay Or Do I Go?"	October 20, 2019 (2019-10-20)
93	11	"Ball Men vs The Wild"	October 27, 2019 (2019-10-27)
94	12	"Hard Times In The Big Easy"	November 3, 2019 (2019-11-03)
95	13	"Pro Mind-Set"	November 10, 2019 (2019-11-10)
96	14	"Goodbye Boys"	November 17, 2019 (2019-11-17)
97	15	"Stay Melo"	November 24, 2019 (2019-11-24)
98	16	"Growing Pains"	December 1, 2019 (2019-12-01)
99	17	"Hot Date"	January 5, 2020 (2020-01-05)
100	18	"Keep It G3 Baby!"	January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12)
101	19	"Ghosted"	January 19, 2020 (2020-01-19)
102	20	"Talk to Me"	January 26, 2020 (2020-01-26)
103	21	"Ballin' in the Big Easy"	February 2, 2020 (2020-02-02)
104	22	"Mr. Big Mouth"	February 9, 2020 (2020-02-09)
105	23	"All About Zoey"	February 16, 2020 (2020-02-16)
106	24	"The Main Event"	February 23, 2020 (2020-02-23)

Season 6 (2020)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date
107	1	"The Ball Family Bounces Back"	October 18, 2020 (2020-10-18)
108	2	"Are Zo & Denise Getting Back Together?"	October 25, 2020 (2020-10-25)
109	3	"BBB and BLM"	November 1, 2020 (2020-11-01)
110	4	"Lonzo On Lockdown"	November 8, 2020 (2020-11-08)
111	5	"New House, New Rules"	November 15, 2020 (2020-11-15)
112	6	"Crossroads"	November 22, 2020 (2020-11-22)
113	7	"Brand Nu Hope"	November 29, 2020 (2020-11-29)
114	8	"PopUpProblems"	December 6, 2020 (2020-12-06)
115	9	"A Birthday To Remember"	December 13, 2020 (2020-12-13)
116	10	"The Big Day"	December 20, 2020 (2020-12-20)

Reception

Critical response

The first season was met with a generally positive reception from critics. Haley O'Shaughnessy of The Ringer wrote that the show "combines everything you'd expect with a touch of nuance and sympathy."^[9] Myron Medcalf of ESPN compared the show favorably to other Bunim/Murray production Keeping Up with the Kardashians saying that "unlike the Kardashians, who never really care about authenticity, Ball in the Family tries to be sympathetic to the Ball patriarch while showing his brashness isn't just there to generate social media buzz."^[10]

Viewership

The show premiered on Facebook Watch on August 29, 2017 and the first episode was viewed by more than 26 million people.^[11]

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
2018	22nd Annual Webby Awards	Film & Video: Reality	Ball in the Family	People's Voice Winner	[12]

See also

• List of original programs distributed by Facebook Watch