It seems that Fox’s female-centric Pitch, about a girl who becomes the first pitcher to play in the Major Leagues, and was produced in partnership with the MLB, will not have a second season.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Dan Lauria and showrunner Kevin Falls, wrote in response to the news:
“Pitch is officially no more. Fox, in their infinite, but not so wise wisdom, has decided to cancel Pitch. I knew the longer they took the less chance we had but I did have renewed hope when Thursday Night Football had been canceled. We would have done better without even having a new time slot. Excuse me, I’m being logical. Pitch, was a great experience, Kevin Falls, [co-creator] Rick Singer and of course Dan Fogelman put together one of the best writing staffs I ever worked with. Our cast was the most professional I ever worked with, not a headache in the bunch. Our staff and crew, the best. I wish everyone a continued great career. Love each and everyone of those involved with Pitch.”
In an ESPN article about Kylie Bunbury, who played lead character Ginny, she revealed that she had not played baseball prior to gaining the role, although she played soccer, track and basketball as a child. In preparation for her role, she started watching the MLB Network and reading books about baseball all the time. She also spent two and a half months practicing pitching prior to filming the Pitch pilot. In regard to her role, both as a woman and an African-American, she said what she took away from her character and the tv series premise was the following: “What we show on television and in films is vital to the people that watch them… I was enough, and I think that is an important message for anyone to know. You’re capable. You are enough.”
What made things difficult for Pitch was that the series had to compete with the real life sports on Thursday Night Football on CBS, suggesting that sports fans would rather watch real sports than a story about them.
Creator Dan Fogelman, who also created NBC’s hit fall series This is Us, was an advocate for the show. Reportedly, given that Pitch was not a standout hit, they were hoping for a short order which could run mid-season. Unfortunately, they were not even given that.
Fortunately, Fogelman still have This is Us on NBC, but he is certainly no stranger to cancellation, as he has experienced show cancellations in the past as creator of ABC’s Galavant , and as executive producer on Fox’s Grandfathered, which were both canceled after two seasons. He previously has written the scripts for films such as Cars, Tangled, and Crazy Stupid Love.
But in good news, what the cancelation also means is Mark Consuelos, who played the owner of the San Diego Padres on Pitch, will be free to take on the role of Mr. Hiram Lodge, father of Veronica Lodge, for the second season of the CW series Riverdale.