Prime Video’s A League of Their Own shares several connections with the 1992 movie, but the show as a whole is forging a new direction. The 1992 film A League of Their Own tells the story of sisters Dottie Hinson and Kit Keller as they play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, a women’s league during World War II. While A League of Their Own maintains the movie’s overall premise, it aims to make its own mark as a reimagining of the original story.
A League of Their Own is the second show to take inspiration from the classic baseball comedy. In 1993, the spinoff series A League of Their Own followed the movie’s characters on several new adventures. A small handful of actors reprised their original roles, but the show was otherwise completely recast. Only five of the six episodes ever aired before the series was pulled.
The Amazon Prime Video TV show takes a different approach than the spinoff. A League of Their Own still focuses on the AAGPBL, and just like the movie, it is set in 1943 and follows the Rockford Peaches team. A League of Their Own also references the original film with characters reminiscent of those in the movie, a chase to catch up with a departing train, and even the iconic line “There’s no crying in baseball.” Otherwise, A League of Their Own entirely reimagines the 1992 movie with a new cast, characters, and plotlines. Rather than a direct remake of the film or a reboot following its characters, A League of Their Own is a new take on the history of the AAGPBL inspired by the 1992 movie’s legacy.
Why A League of Their Own Doesn’t Include Returning Movie Characters
A League of Their Own co-creator Abbi Jacobson, a former Broad City star, told E! News’ Daily Pop that a core question in creating the show was, “How can we explore the stories that weren’t told in the film?” While Dottie, Kit, and their teammates are nostalgic characters with wide appeal, the choice to focus on new characters allowed Jacobson and her co-creator William Graham to explore these untold stories. The A League of Their Own show especially amplifies themes of racial discrimination and LGBTQ+ identity that the 1992 movie couldn’t. It prominently features new characters Carson Shaw, an Idahoan housewife who struggles to understand her feelings for a fellow teammate, and Max Chapman, a Black pitcher who searches for a way to keep playing baseball when the League rejects her. The 1992 movie briefly addressed similar themes with actress Rosie O’Donnell’s queer-coded character Doris Murphy and a short scene where a Black woman returns a stray ball with an impressive throw, but A League of Their Own is able to explore them more deeply by using new characters to tell a new story.
A League of Their Own does feature one returning actor. Rosie O’Donnell will guest star as Vi, the owner of a gay bar. Rosie O’Donnell played Doris Murphy in the 1992 film, and her new role serves as an homage to the character that connects to the show’s LGBTQ+ themes. The A League of Their Own cast has also shared an openness to including other actors from the 1992 movie in potential future seasons.
The A League of Their Own show seeks to build on the 1992 film’s legacy by bringing new characters and themes to the screen. Although it leaves Dottie and Kit behind, A League of Their Own’s goal is to add more characters rather than to erase the old. It aims to honor the original film while expanding the story of the Rockford Peaches and the AAPGBL—and the aspiring players left outside of it.
All episodes of A League of Their Own will air on August 12 on Amazon Prime
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