On Monday, Peacock announced that it had ordered a scripted series based on Field of Dreams, written and executive produced by Michael Schur (Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, Fire Joe Morgan, The Poscast with Joe Posnanski, among other credits).
Little has been revealed about the series, other than that it “will reimagine the mixture of family, baseball, Iowa and magic that makes the movie so enduring and beloved.”
NBC’s execs were also quite complimentary about Schur and the original movie.
“Through the years, ‘Field of Dreams’ has remained a fan favorite, maintaining its rightful position in the zeitgeist,” said Lisa Katz, President, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “It’s whimsical and grounded, a space where Mike Schur excels, and we’re looking forward to bringing a new version of this classic to Peacock.”
“’Field of Dreams’ is an iconic Universal Film title from venerable producers Lawrence and Charles Gordon, that we could only have entrusted to Mike Schur,” said Erin Underhill, President, Universal Television. “His talent, his love for baseball and his reverence for its themes make him the perfect choice to revisit this beloved film that evokes nostalgia and visceral emotion in so many of its fans.”
Last week, Fox Sports aired the first Field of Dreams MLB game, which the league apparently aiming the turn it into an annual event. Feedback for the game was positive from both fans and advertisers, and the game delivered a monster viewership number (comparatively speaking) for Fox.
Now, another network (that doesn’t have a national MLB rights deal, mind you) is going back to the well for Field of Dreams content (that we probably won’t see until next year at the earliest). Will there still be a desire for it then? If the series manages to premiere sometime around the next Field of Dreams game (which seems aggressive to me), maybe it’ll be able to attract some of that same audience and thrive.
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.