‘Field Of Dreams’ TV Series From ‘Parks And Recreation’ Creator Heads To Peacock
If you build it, they will come.
Those words spoken in the filmField of Dreamsapply to more than just baseball fields, apparently. Hot on the heels of thesuccessful production put on by Major League Baseball, where the New York Yankees played a regular season game against the Chicago White Sox right across from the actual Iowa-based field from the beloved baseball movie, Peacock has given a straight-to-series green light for aField of Dreamsseries to be produced by writer, creator, and super-producerMichael Schur, ofParks and RecreationandThe Good Placefame.
MLB’s widely-publicizedField of Dreamsgame was initially supposed to take place last year alongside the film’s 30th anniversary, but obviously the pandemic had other ideas. Delayed to this past week, the game exceeded everyone’s expectations with its gorgeous vistas of professional baseball played amid farmhouses and cornfields (into whichmanyhome runs disappeared during the course of the game), thegolden hour sunset, and a ratings bonanza that resulted in themost-viewed regular season gamein over 15 years.
That last part is probably the most important nugget of information, as the spectacle proved that there’s still a hunger to be exploited when it comes toField of Dreamsnostalgia. According to Peacock’s official announcement, the in-development series “…will reimagine the mixture of family, baseball, Iowa and magic that makes the movie so enduring and beloved.”
I can’t help but feel like the thing that makes the movie so enduring and beloved is, you know, the movie itself and the fact that audiences haven’t been overexposed by attempted “reimaginings” of the classic story. But that’s why I’m here and others are running NBC. In fact, take it from the President of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming herself,Lisa Katz:
“Through the years, Field of Dreams has remained a fan favorite, maintaining its rightful position in the zeitgeist. 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.”
Erin Underhill, President of Universal Television, also chimes in to support Schur’s take on this property:
Will They Come?
I’ll fess up: even as a lifelong Yankees fan, I could barely muster up any enthusiasm about theField of Dreamsbaseball game (and that wasbeforethe Yankees managed to lose the game in excruciating fashion). There was something weirdly off-putting about an inherently nostalgic sport putting on a public display of nostalgia around a deeply nostalgic baseball movie that proved to be too much for me. And for all that fuss, they didn’t even play on the actual field! But the ratings obviously dictate otherwise, which is why this news comes as little surprise.
But do baseball ratings translate to actual viewership numbers for aField of Dreamsseries on Peacock, of all places? I have my doubts, as tempting as it is to imagine Film Twitter and Baseball Twitter crossing over into one big chaotic mess of hot takes and fandom freak-outs. I wonder how much viewers are really dying for moreField of Dreamscontent, an itch that couldn’t be scratched simply by … watching the original movie again. I’ve been wrong before, so I’ll be watching this closely to see whether this series proves to be another home run (ugh) or vanishes into the cornfield like a ghost.
