It's become almost expected in the current climate of Hollywood: do not get your hopes up for an up-and-coming show because it's likely to be cancelled after just one season. The series A League of Their Own was victim to this exact scenario last year. After debuting with a massive fan-following in 2022, the show was cancelled in mid-2023 despite news of a renewal for a second and final season in early 2023. It was reported that the cancellation was due to the WGA Strike. Speaking with Perri Nemiroff for Collider Ladies Night, for her role in No Good Deed, star and creator Abbi Jacobson opened up about the frustrations tied to the cancellation of the Prime Video series. Jacobson played Carson Shaw, the catcher and one of the coaches for the Rockford Peaches in the short-lived series based on the 1992 film of the same name.
"I was just talking to someone about this yesterday. Listen, I think a lot of networks and studios canceled things when the strike was happening. Was the strike a part of the cancellation? Yes. But did it feel, also, that the strike was an easy way for them to cancel the show? Yes. It's like this scapegoat has come up, 'The strike, we're losing money, and we gotta let it go.'"
As Jacobson explains, "I just think it's a show that is about a lot of things. It's a show that's about baseball, it's a really queer show, it's a really Black show, and I think it had been proven that it had a fan base." The show sports a 95% Certified Fresh critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and an equally impressive 87% audience score. Will Graham, Jacobson's co-creator on the show, actually took to social media to enlist the fans to help combat review-bombing of the show.
'A League of Their Own' Didn't Need To Have Success in a League of Its Own To Not Get Cancelled
Jacobson zeroes in on an issue that's plagued multiple shows that have seemingly landed on the chopping block before they've got a fair shot to succeed. "What's a shame is that all these networks and studios have the ability, to a certain extent, to help audiences find these stories." She says, ''listen, you're not going to ever be able to totally control which shows are successful, but if you have huge, huge shows that are, without a doubt, successful, I do think there's a place to have a show that has a great audience, and it doesn't have to be as successful as your most successful show. There should be a range of what a successful show is on every network."
A League of Their Own is available to watch on Prime Video. Stay with Collider for the latest updates. Watch Jacobson's full episode of Collider Ladies Night below.
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Set in 1943, A League of Their Own follows Carson Shaw, who leaves her small-town life to pursue her dream of playing professional baseball. She joins the Rockford Peaches in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, forming deep connections with her teammates. Simultaneously, Maxine Chapman, an African-American woman, faces rejection from the league and, with her friend Clance's support, forges a new path to pursue her passion for baseball.
Release Date August 12, 2022
Creator
Main Genre Drama
Seasons 1
Character(s) Carson Shaw , Max Chapman , Greta Gill , Clance Morgan , Lupe García , Jess McCready , Esti González
Producers Jeffrey Ganz
Story By Will Graham
Network CBS
Directors Will Graham
Showrunner Will Graham
English (US) ·