CNBC Greenlights LeBron James' 'Cleveland Hustles'

LOS ANGELES - CNBC today announced the network is teaming up with NBA superstar LeBron James’ and Maverick Carter’s production company, SpringHill Entertainment, and Magical Elves for a new unscripted series set in Cleveland, Ohio.

The series, set to debut in Summer 2016, will give local entrepreneurs the chance to realize their own dreams while also helping to revitalize struggling neighborhoods in their city. In addition, CNBC unveiled plans for “The Partner,” a new series featuring renowned businessman and investor Marcus Lemonis.

In “The Partner,” also debuting Summer 2016, Lemonis, host of CNBC’s popular original series “The Profit,” searches for the perfect person to help him run the businesses he’s saved from the brink of disaster. And he’s not just offering a job, he’s offering a potential equity stake in his growing empire.

Having invested more than $35 million of his own money in companies featured on “The Profit,” Lemonis is now ready to invest in “The Partner.” “‘Cleveland Hustles,’ speaks to the network’s entrepreneurial spirt and also creates an opportunity to help strengthen communities that have fallen on hard times,” said Jim Ackerman, EVP, Primetime Alternative, CNBC. “Meanwhile, we’ve produced over forty episodes of ‘The Profit,’ and Marcus decided it was time to share his workload. ‘The Partner’ is a chance to grow our relationship with an important member of the CNBC family while also providing the opportunity of a lifetime for one of his fans.”

“Cleveland Hustles” is produced by SpringHill Entertainment and Magical Elves with LeBron James and Maverick Carter as executive producers for SpringHill Entertainment and Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz as executive producers for Magical Elves.

In “Cleveland Hustles,” NBA superstar LeBron James and his longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter will give four aspiring local entrepreneurs the chance to realize their own dreams while also helping to revitalize a neighborhood in Cleveland. LeBron and Maverick will enlist the aid of four trusted business experts and associates, who will in turn invest in and mentor fledgling entrepreneurs who need a little jumpstart. In success, these four businesses will provide jobs and services for neighborhoods that desperately need investment.