Prime Video just released a rip off and no one is talking about it!

With the outbreak of World War II, professional baseball players went to the front. In an effort to save the clubs and the sport, club owners incorporate the Women’s Baseball League.

An Extraordinary Team, a series created by Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham with Abbi Jacobson, Chante Adams, D’Arcy Carden, Gbemisola Ikumelo… available on Prime Video

In the role of Carson Shaw, a woman whose husband is away at war and who is recruited in a professional baseball league, we find Abby Jacobson, who gained fame as an actress and the creator of the excellent comedy Broad City. He is also the co-creator of the series.

Before her we meet some famous faces from the small screen, including D’Arcy Carden, known for her role as Janet in The Good Place; Roberta Colindres was seen in I Love Dick and The Deuce. They are part of the Rockford Peaches, a baseball team newly formed to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), sponsored by the candy mogul. The league was formed to keep the stadiums from closing while the men were at war.

Little known to the general public, two actors shine in this first season: Shanti Adams, who portrays Maxine, a young African-American woman who dreams of becoming a professional but cannot join the AAGPBL due to racial segregation; and Gbemisola Ikumelo, who plays Clans, Max’s best friend.

You may not have seen Uncommon Team, Penny Marshall’s 1992 film starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell. You don’t know anything about baseball, and you’re not particularly interested in the sport. You’re not interested in historical fiction about women playing sports that aren’t very popular on this side of the Atlantic.

And yet, you’d be wrong to miss the Uncommon Team series! Will Graham and Abby Jacobson’s series not only pays vigorous homage to Penny Marshall’s film with many references and voices – including Rosie O’Donnell – but it also offers a completely different look at this period and this page in the history of sports and the lives of women during wartime.

Love stories…

Because the series, unlike the film, spends time on the intimate lives of the characters and chooses to use this story as an excuse to evoke the lives of queer women and black women in a time when not all women have social status. Except for his wife and mother. They enjoy no financial autonomy – any bank account must be opened with a husband’s signature – and absolutely no freedom.

Without taking away the light tone and some humor, Abby Jacobson takes another look at these women who are not allowed to live their desires or love and who find a small space of freedom thanks to this sports adventure. The same goes for the character of Maxine (or Max), who dreams of becoming a championship pitcher and challenging men when her mother prefers to run her hair salon.

Uncommon Team is a story of emancipation that, interestingly, recalls in some respects Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum’s very nice documentary Secret Love, about two former AAGPBL players who kept their romantic relationship a secret for almost 70 years.

and friendship

In addition to offering an almost unprecedented LGBTQ+ prism on the era that has been at the heart of hundreds of movies and series, this beautiful drama also highlights friendship. Maxine and Clancy are a real delight in every scene they share together. Their unwavering bond, despite arguments and unspoken issues, allows each of them to face trials in their personal lives.

At Rockford Peaches too, we stick together no matter what. Carson Shaw may be shy and not always sure of himself, but his passion for baseball and team spirit make him outdo himself when it comes to leading and coaching a team. Even the leader of the team, played by Dale Dickey – the brilliant “person” of the small screen – is firm, but always kind to the players.

Over the course of eight episodes, as we get closer to these characters, they in turn begin to share their love of sports with us. What was initially – admittedly – only anecdotal, is becoming more and more exciting. The authors have introduced a form of pedagogy that is subtle and effective enough to make us want the Rockford Peaches to win, but also to keep us engaged in the game of baseball.

A real nice surprise came out in mid-August, an extraordinary team that deserves more than a glance, but real attention.