A new spin on a baseball classic
Co-creator/star Abbi Jacobson on her TV reimagining of A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
THIRTY YEARS AFTER Penny Marshall’s World War II baseball movie hit big screens, A League Of Their Own receives a fresh, serialised reimagining that opens up the world of its all-female ensemble.“from the beginning, we’re leaning into the stories that were not really told,” says Abbi Jacobson, who co-created the show and stars in it as hopeful player Carson. “There’s a nod to them in the film — we’re doing a backflip into them.”
Included in those stories is the deepening friendship between Carson in the show, and Max (Chanté Adams), a talented Black player who, in 1943, is fighting to get on the pitch. In the film, a single scene touches on the divide between Black and white women playing the game. In the show, however, Max is a key player, inspired by three real women of the time: Toni Stone, Mamie Johnson and Connie Morgan, who went on to play in the Negro Leagues with the men. “The AllAmerican Girls Professional Baseball League was this door that opened for white and white-passing women to play,” Jacobson explains. “But what about women of colour? How does this incredible player find her team?”
The show is also packed with a spectrum of queer storylines shared amongst the characters, told within the confines of its 1940s setting, and introduced almost straight off the bat. “We would always ask, ‘Why aren’t there more nuanced, full, romantic stories like this?” says Jacobson. “We’ve also tried to present what it would’ve been like to be queer at the time. How secret it was, and how dangerous it could be.”
The project might seem like a drastic change of pace for the Broad City co-star and co-creator; a sports ensemble show set against rapidly changing ’40s America. Certainly travelling back to the era presented its challenges. “Some of the outfits were such a pain in the ass,” Jacobson laughs. “I’ll occasionally wear stockings in the winter, but I’m wearing stockings every single day on this show.”
In spite of the era it’s set in, there’s a modern feel to the show; the dialogue doesn’t feel dated, and the timeless female camaraderie is bolstered by an energetic, largely comedic cast including The Good Place’s D’arcy Carden and Famalam’s
Gbemisola Ikumelo. Some aspects of the show, however, didn’t need updating, as a cameo from one of the film’s original cast, Rosie O’donnell, proves. “She didn’t take much convincing to come on board,” says Jacobson. “Rosie is such an important person in queer history, so to have her come and talk about that on set was a really special moment.” It’s through this celebration of the old while moving its story into the present day that puts this version of A League Of Their Own in a ballpark all of its own.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN IS ON PRIME VIDEO FROM 12 AUGUST