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The tagline for HBO’s new half-hour show Ballers is “Legends Don’t Retire. They Reinvent.” The opening sequence provides a framework for the show in a microcosm: A retired football player gets into a fight with his volatile mistress in his flashy super car that ends with a fatal crash and quick cut to his jersey number in flowers at his funeral. The major conceit of the show comes in a line of dialogue from the widow to Spencer Strassmore (Dwayne Johnson) in the opening act of the pilot: “Go out there and figure your shit out.” The unspoken warning hangs in the balance of the scene - otherwise, your number may be up too.

Pilots are notoriously difficult projects. The hybrid format of Ballers adds to the difficulty level. It is a half-hour show and slips into the Silicon Valley (2014 – Present) Sunday evening timeslot, but it is not straight up comedy. There are some serious dramatic elements as well and Spencer, even with Johnson’s charismatic swagger, is one of the straightest characters of all. So the pilot, in this half-hour with built in comedy expectations, needs to introduce viewers to the main characters and also outline the basic conflict of the show, as telegraphed by that major conceit.

The writers achieve this in two ways: First, the conflict, in some form, affects all of the major characters. Spencer is struggling to succeed as a financial planner being forced to “monetize his friendships.” Ricky Jerret (John David Washington) has created a bad boy persona that is catching up with him and jeopardizing his career. Finally, Charles Greane (Omar Benson Miller) moves in the second act of the pilot to his own personal second act—selling Chevrolets at a local Florida car dealership. Each character confronts an uncertain future where the skills that have made him successful in the past do not guarantee success in the future.

Secondly, the balance of humor and drama baked into the script work to build the tension throughout the pilot. The overblown party scenes have a sense of dread, particularly after the car crash and funeral in the opening sequence. Early on viewers know that each of these characters teeters on a knife’s edge. The warmth and genuine comedy comes from the quieter scenes with family and trusted friends. The theme of getting your act together is echoed perfectly in the final moments when the Dolphins’ Head Coach (played by Ballers’ Executive Producer and Friday Night Lights’ (2006-2011) creator Peter Berg) says to Ricky: “There are very few people that deserve a second chance. There are even less that deserve a third.”