IFC is betting big on Brockmire. Having already renewed its baseball comedy for a second season, the cable network announced during its upfront presentation on Thursday that the series starring Hank Azaria as a washed-up play-by-play broadcaster trying to revive his career in the minor leagues will get a third and fourth season as well.
The news comes roughly a month before Season 2 of Brockmire premieres on April 25.
Brockmire‘s debut last April was IFC’s highest-rated new series in the network’s history. Overall, its first season drew 8.6 million total viewers, making the show the most time-shifted new original comedy on cable. IFC marketed the show well with Azaria making several appearances on sports-related programming, both in and out of character. And word of mouth on what turned out to be a hilarious, boundary-pushing series seemed particularly strong.
New Orleans will never be the same. ? #Brockmire Season 2 starts April 25th on @IFC. pic.twitter.com/WnVWw8UqqG
— Brockmire (@BrockmireIFC) February 21, 2018
Lasting only eight episodes, Season 1 introduced Jim Brockmire as a near-legendary baseball voice who destroyed his career when he found out about his wife’s infidelity and unleashed his pain, humiliation and anger on the air in a drunken rant. After fleeing to Thailand where he broadcasted any sport he could find, Brockmire is hired by the Morristown Frackers to be their play-by-play man and in-stadium announcer for some much-needed publicity.
Already an internet legend thanks to his on-air meltdown, Brockmire revives his career with the help of an intern posting all of the Frackers’ broadcasts online. He also develops a relationship with the team’s owner, Jules James (Amanda Peet). But Brockmire wants to return to the major leagues and regain the standing he once had. The season ended on something of a cliffhanger, with Brockmire getting hired by a Triple-A team in New Orleans.
Being in the sports broadcasting business for as long as he’s been has allowed Jim @BrockmireIFC to rack up a good number of feuds. One sportscaster in particular, Joe @Buck, called in to set the record straight.
-Lorenzo pic.twitter.com/QSW7SFaqRC— Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) March 26, 2018
Will we once again see real-life baseball broadcasters like Brian Kenny, Tim Kurkjian and Jonah Keri make appearances on the show? Since Brockmire has a feud with Joe Buck, perhaps we can expect him to show up.
“This show is my favorite thing I’ve ever done. Period,” Azaria said during IFC’s upfront presentation for advertisers in New York. “I love shooting it, I love editing it and I love how much people are enjoying it. Jim can say all manner of insane things that I can’t. And he does. A lot.”
With the two-season renewal, Brockmire is getting tantalizingly close to #SixSeasonsAndAMovie territory. Fingers are crossed.
Season 2 of Brockmire premieres April 25 on IFC.