Amazon Studios Television head Vernon Sanders suggested that the company would be open to continuing their “A League of Their Own” series, despite its recent decision to renew the show for an abbreviated four-episode second season.
“I’m one of those people that believes that if magic happens and we get a great response, this doesn’t necessarily have to be the end,” Sanders told TheWrap. “It will totally depend on how it performs and how the cast and creators all decide they want to revisit it if they do. So let’s hope we get that big audience.”
He emphasized that the studio “loved” the show and that the conversation about bringing it back was a “tough one.”
“Doing a big ensemble period piece, at the scale and level of Season One was both really gratifying but challenging. And we had a conversation with the producers about how can we bring that back but do it in a way that perhaps was a little more cost-constrained,” he added. “And the producers came back to us and said, ‘What if we did it as a limited series?’ And we jumped at the chance and they’ve arced out something that we think is really dynamic. So I think the proof will be in the pudding.”
Sanders’ comments come after co-creator Will Graham said “A League of Their Own” is “not a small or niche show” in response to the initial leak that the show would be ending with the shorter season.
“The audience is domestic, but our understanding is that it’s very big,” he tweeted in March. “It has outperformed many other shows that have been renewed.”
“If you want to see more episodes or more seasons of this show, now is your moment. People are listening,” he added at the time.
The series’ first season, which is co-created by Graham and star Abbi Jacobson, delved into the diverse history of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League made famous in Penny Marshall’s original film starring Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Tom Hanks and Madonna.
Carson Shaw (Jacobson) takes a risk and leaves home to try out for the AAGPBL while her husband is away at war. On the way to tryouts, she meets Jo De Luca (Melanie Field) and Gretta Gil (D’Arcy Carden), who become her teammates on the Rockford Peaches. Focusing on that team, the show portrays a diverse experience of queer baseball players while alternating between their story and the narrative of Max Chapman (Chanté Adams), a Black woman who attends tryouts but is turned away due to her race.
Other key characters include Max’s best friend Clance Morgan (Gbemisola Ikumelo), Lupe García (Roberta Colindrez), Jess McCready (Kelly McCormack), Esti González (Priscilla Delgado), Maybelle Fox (Molly Ephraim), Shirley Cohen (Kate Berlant) and Coach Dove Porter (Nick Offerman).
“A League of Their Own” is now streaming on Prime Video.
