Hulu's Mike Tyson Series Hits As Hard As You'd Expect In Full-Length Trailer

Notorious boxer Mike Tyson's rags to riches story has been told on screen before. It's been captured through the 1995 TV movie "Tyson," recounted as a part of the 1997 Don King HBO biopic "Don King: Only in America," and is slated to be the focus of a project starring Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx. Tyson himself has had fun satirizing his own reputation and public persona by playing himself in the "Hangover" series of films, "Scary Movie V," and the popular Adult Swim animated program "Mike Tyson Mysteries." But his tale has never been told quite like this. 

Hulu's "Mike" is a brand-new limited series that features Trevante Rhodes as the boxer, with Laura Harrier as Tyson's ex-wife, Robin Givens, and Russell Hornsby as the loquacious King. As you can tell from this newly released trailer, it's a hard-hitting piece that refuses to pull punches or sanitize Tyson's reputation. Based on this preview, the miniseries looks to offer a brutally honest portrayal of Tyson's weaknesses, strengths, foibles, crimes, and graces.

Set to the tune of Frank Sinatra's version of "My Way," the trailer affords us glimpses of Tyson's life as narrated by the boxer. "Who am I? People just see an animal. They call me a savage. I'm the most vicious, ruthless champion there's ever been .. My style's impetuous. I'm ferocious. I want your heart, I want to eat your children, praise be to Allah." Then Tyson is seen in prison fatigues. He turns toward the camera and asks, "Is that who I am?"

The miniseries seems set to follow Tyson from his troubled early days to his determined journey to become the youngest world heavyweight boxing champion. He becomes a darling of the boxing world, but is torn from his lofty perch by multiple scandals. First, he was accused by ex-wife Robin Givens of battering her during their fraught divorce proceedings (per Essence Magazine), then in 1992, he was convicted of raping beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington (per Indianapolis Monthly). Tyson mounted a boxing comeback after leaving prison, which was marred when he bit Evander Holyfield's ear during a 1997 contest, which resulted in Tyson being banned from the sport temporarily (per The Sun). The limited series seems set to depict all of these events frankly and without flinching.

"Mike" will hit Hulu on August 25, when viewers will get to see if the miniseries joins the ranks of either the most or least accurate biopics ever made.

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