Can the Series Compare to the Film?

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MOVIE REVIEW
A League of Their Own
16+ –

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sports
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 8 episodes, approximately 55 mins each
Creator(s): Will Graham, Abbi Jacobson
Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Chanté Adams, D'Arcy Carden, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Roberta Colindrez, Kelly McCormack, Priscilla Delgado, Molly Ephraim, Melanie Field, Kate Berlant, Dale Dickey
Where To Watch: Streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime this Friday, August 12

You may be familiar with the 1992 film by the same name that starred Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Jon Lovitz, Rosie O'Donnell, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, and Bill Pullman. This film was both a critical and commercial success; without a doubt, it shone a light on an essential piece of American history that hadn’t been seen before. The film shows the story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) and some of the league's events in its first season. While the film was mostly fictionalized, there were some actual elements included. The following year, a short-lived six-episode TV series was created for CBS, with some of the cast returning. Only five of the six episodes ever aired.

I’ve always been intrigued by streaming giants' take on TV series; often, the series are shorter runs. This is only eight episodes, but each is almost an hour long, allowing a much deeper dive. The original film was just over two hours, so although it did its best to cover many topics, this format allows for much more. Adding issues of racism and relationships between players was a fascinating take. These limited series allow for things that could never fit into a feature-length film simply due to time constraints.

One of my favorite aspects of the series is the relationships between characters. From the evolution of friendships or “forbidden” romances, the camaraderie between players was amplified in the series to make you invested in everyone. There were still some “background” characters on the team, but in general, there was something that you cared about with each of the main cast.

The best part is that I could see a second season of the series without trouble at all. You could have some of the same cast return and add new ones. The actual league the film is based on was around for twelve seasons, so there’s still plenty of room if the correct stories are found. As a neat bonus, I found out that there was a team local to me that was part of the league for five years!

I also have to mention how much I enjoyed the short cameo by Rosie O’Donnell. Seeing the small easter egg hidden was fun, paying homage to the original film.

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