The initial reviews for A League of Their Own season 1 have arrived, and critics agree the series is a fresh take on the original movie. A League of Their Own, which is based on the true story of the World War II-era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and more specifically the Rockford Peaches team, was originally released in 1992. The film, which was directed by Penny Marshall and starred Geena David, Tom Hanks, and Madonna along with a huge ensemble cast, was a hit at the box office and has since become an enduring classic. It was such a success that it even inspired a television series spinoff in 1993, which saw Garry Marshall, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, Freddie Simpson, and Jon Lovitz reprising their roles, though that show only aired five of its six episodes before it was cancelled.
However, the television space has changed considerably since the failure of that first spinoff, and Prime Video has launched a brand new reboot, which premieres on August 12, 2022. The show, which was co-created by Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham, will consist of ten one-hour episodes, the first three of which are set to premiere that day. In addition to creating, writing, and executive producing the show, Jacobson will star alongside an ensemble cast that includes Chanté Adams, Roberta Colindrez, Kelly McCormack, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Priscilla Delgado, Nick Offerman, and The Good Place star D’Arcy Carden.
With the show just a few days away from its premiere, the embargo has now lifted on reviews, and critics from various publications have been sharing their thoughts throughout the past few hours. The project has largely been praised for choosing to focus on minority viewpoints, though some critics’ mileage has been tested by a feeling of preachiness. However, they nearly all seem to agree that the series is a fun, dazzling revisit of the iconic story that has come at the perfect time. Other consensus opinions seem to be that the performances of the entire cast – but especially Jacobson and Carden – are excellent, and that episode 1 has some kinks that get worked out as the show progresses. Check out selected quotes from various critics below:
Graeme Guttmann, Screen Rant:
Quite possibly the only complaint that can be leveled against A League of Their Own is its runtime. Some episodes do feel a bit drawn out, especially compared to the original movie’s brisk pace, which felt fast despite its two-hour-plus runtime. Like the film, though, A League of Their Own allows viewers to get deeply invested in a plethora of nuanced characters
Nicole Drum, ComicBook.com:
Adapting something that is beloved and familiar is always a challenge, and A League of Their Own more than meets it. By incorporating familiar elements while simultaneously expanding the story, the series enriches it. The result is a series that avoids the traps of nostalgia to become its own entity, one that is fresh, timely, and genuinely a home run.
Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence:
There’s something thrilling about how under the guise of adapting a classic work of mainstream cinema, the creators have used it as a cover to tell deep, rich stories about LGBTQ+ identity and community, while also never losing sight of the Black experience as well. It’s a lot to juggle, and if there’s one major complaint to be had, it’s that there isn’t a ton of baseball in the show as a result — while the original was a sports movie through and through, the sport at times seems less important than the people playing it.
Dave Nemetz, TVLine:
This show just needs more baseball, too — which is an odd complaint to make about something based on A League of Their Own. We only get about four minutes of baseball action in the premiere, and while we do get more in later episodes, the gameplay is marred by unconvincing CGI effects that makes the pitches and throws look like a video game.
Jenna Scherer, AV Club:
That the show effortlessly weaves this diverse tapestry of women’s stories is no easy feat. But League is funny as hell to boot, using a quasi-contemporary conversation style and modern slang (“F–king f–kers!”) that feels oddly at home in the 1940s setting.
Ben Travers, IndieWire:
Given the talent involved and the pedigree of its predecessor, “A League of Their Own” is burdened by outsized expectations, and that can magnify every bump in the road. But most of its first season problems are common issues for freshman TV shows, and the Prime Video original smooths out with each passing episode.
Although Rotten Tomatoes has not yet aggregated enough of the new reviews to ascertain a score for the new A League of Their Own show, the overwhelming positivity seems to point to a solid overall rating. In fact, the new series just might be able to one-up its own source material, which is currently sitting at 81%. While that is enough to make it Certified Fresh on the platform, it leaves a lot of leeway for the new series to thrive.
It’s certainly looking like A League of Their Own will be joining the ranks of successful television adaptations of popular films. While many have attempted, only a select few have been elevated to classic status, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Fargo. As the series airs season 1, it will certainly be exciting to see if the fan response can match the critical response, in which case Prime Video may just have a hit on their hands.
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