In further proof that Amazon is moving away from prestige TV shows, in favor of more recognizable names and properties, it looks like they’re getting ready to remake a classic Penny Marshall film for the small screen. The Hollywood Reporter recently revealed that the streaming service is developing a half-hour comedy series based on the hit 1992 film, “A League of Their Own.”
While reboots and remakes aren’t the most exciting news ever, as we will soon see just about every property from the ‘80s and ‘90s get remade, “A League of Their Own” does seem to have some great talent behind the scenes that could make this series worth watching. Will Graham, best known for his work on the award-winning Amazon series “Mozart in the Jungle,” and half of the “Broad City” duo, Abbi Jacobsen are along to co-write and executive produce the series.
“A League of Their Own” is a truly classic film, and one of Penny Marshall’s greatest. The film starred Tom Hanks as a baseball manager in a female league that was formed when World War II was threatening to shut down Major League Baseball. The film is one of Hanks’ most quoted, with the famous line “There’s no crying in baseball!” The film also starred Geena Davis, Lori Petty, and Madonna.
The new series doesn’t have a cast yet, but THR is reporting that Jacobsen is not going to play a role in the Amazon comedy, which is a shame. In her work on “Broad City,” and even the recent Netflix film “6 Balloons,” Jacobsen has proven she’s a true talent and would have been a great addition to the cast.
Here’s how Amazon describes the series:
“A League of Their Own” is a half-hour comedy infusing the warmth, humor and DNA of the classic film, while taking a contemporary spin on the stories of the women surrounding the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The show will begin with the formation of the league in 1943 and follows the Rockford Peaches, season to season as they struggle to keep the team alive through close games, injuries, late night bar crawls, sexual awakenings, not crying and road trips across a rapidly changing United States. The series dives deeper into the issues facing the country while following a ragtag team of women figuring themselves out while fighting to realize their dreams of playing professional baseball.
