There’s no crying in baseball, and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) is here to keep that rule alive as he will play the coach Casey “Dove” Porter in the upcoming A League of Their Own series at Amazon. A reboot of the 1992 film under the same name, Offerman is taking on the iconic role made famous by the one and only Tom Hanks (News of the World), via Entertainment Weekly.
Directed by Penny Marshall (Big), the film A League of Their Own starred Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise), Lori Petti (Point Break), Madonna (Evita), and Rosie O’Donnell (Sleepless in Seattle) alongside Hanks. It was a groundbreaking movie and box office hit as it told the true story of the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940s during World War Two. In 2012, the film was inducted into the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural significance.
The remake is in good hands, as it is co-created by Broad City mastermind Abbi Jacobson (Disenchantment) and Will Graham (Mozart in the Jungle). Jacobson will also write, executive produce, and star in the series. Offerman is joining her, alongside cast members Chanté Adams (Roxanne Roxanne), Kelly McCormack (Letterkenny), Gbemisola Ikumelo (Roadkill), Roberta Colindrez (Monsterland), Priscilla Delgado (Just Before Christ), Molly Ephraim (Perry Mason), Melanie Field (Heathers), Kate Berlant (Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood), and D’arcy Garden (The Good Place).
Offerman announced the news of his casting in the role of the tough-loving drunk coach on his Twitter, writing: “ I CAN RUNG LONG DISTANCES. I LOVE TYPEWRITERS. I AM AMERICA’S SWEETHEART. I AM THE NEW @tomhanks…”
See Offerman’s full tweet below:
As Entertainment Weekly reports, the Amazon series aims to honor the original film, and to: “evoke the joyful spirit of Penny Marshall’s beloved classic while widening the lens to tell the story of an entire generation of women who dreamed of playing professional baseball. The show takes a deeper look at race and sexuality, following the journey of a whole new ensemble of characters as they carve their own paths towards the field, both in the League and outside of it.”