ABC has ordered a pilot commitment for an untitled baseball comedy from Kapital Entertainment, according to Deadline. The single-camera show is set to star Felicity Huffman (Transamerica, Otherhood) in her first role since last year’s college admissions scandal and a subsequent prison sentence. The series is written by Becky Hartman Edwards (In Living Color, Life on Mars). Both Hartman Edwards and Huffman will executive produce the series along with Aaron Kaplan (The Chi, The Neighbors).
According to Deadline, the show is inspired by the life of Susan Savage, the current owner of a minor-league baseball team, the Sacramento River Cats. After her husband’s death in 2009, Savage inherited the baseball team, eventually making the franchise the most valuable minor-league team worth $49 million. Huffman will play a character based on Savage dealing with not only her sudden loss but balancing the intricacies of her family and this new business venture. In addition to Huffman, the series is set to star Zack Gottsagen best known for his role in the 2019 film, The Peanut Butter Falcon with Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, The Tax Collector). He will play Huffman’s eldest son who lives with Down syndrome.
According to Deadline, this will be Huffman’s fourth project at ABC throughout her tenured career. She previously appeared in the short-lived comedy Sports Night and the Emmy-winning dramedy Desperate Housewives and anthology drama series, American Crime. The celebrated actress would receive an Emmy win for her portrayal of overworked wife and mother Lynette Scavo on Housewives. Huffman was recently seen in Netflix’s crime saga When They See Us from Ava DeVurnay (A Wrinkle in Time, DMZ).
In addition to Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, executive producers include Savage, Kapital’s Dana Honor (A Million Little Things, The Unicorn), and Artists First’s Joel Zadak (Key & Peele, The Last O.G.), according to Deadline. Gottsagen will serve as a co-producer. ABC Signature will produce for the network.