Placing the action in Miami is one of the most important storytelling decisions made by Ballers (2015) creator Stephen Levinson and his writing team. Miami and South Florida function as the ‘twelfth man’—the fictional extra player attributed to enthusiastic football fans — of the production. The set choices, location vibe, and cultural touchstones give the writers narrative choices unavailable elsewhere and provide visual contrast in a unique and compelling way.

On the surface level, Miami is vibrant and colorful, just like football players depicted in the series. There is a lot of flash and style inherent to the city that reinforces the lifestyles of characters like Ricky Jerret or the hopelessly-mired-in-hanger-ons Vernon Littlefield. Even Spencer is dressed to the nines in South Beach cool and driving a tricked out Range Rover.

But a darker, more complicated side to South Florida also exists. The heat. The distractions. The pressure to keep up. This is where the writing really capitalizes on the locations in Episode Two: “Raise Up.” Jerret is working hard at the Dolphins’ OTAs (Organized Team Activities, authorized offseason training sessions) sweating in the sun and sweating it out over his jersey, but then goes home to a breathtaking bayside view, drawing the connection for the viewer that the view comes with a heavy price, both literally and figuratively. Vernon is drowning under the weight of his retinue, captured perfectly by the buffet scene at the legendary brunch at the Biltmore in Coral Gables—new money and old money coming face to face. Spencer’s struggle is highlighted by the stark contrast of his flashy exterior life to the cubicle-filled generic office space of his job as a financial manager.

One the best articulations so far of the dichotomy of the series as represented by the setting is when Charles Greane is explaining to Dulé Hill’s Larry, the Dolphin’s executive, in “Raise Up” why retirement is working for him: “I’mma just kick back. Soak up the A/C.” He has stepped out of the pressure cooker. Certainly New York and Los Angeles share similar dichotomies, but Miami does it all with a little more flash and a lot more football. The narrative possibilities expand exponentially for the writers on the shores of Biscayne Bay.