On Aug. 12, 2022, Amazon Prime Studios released their eight-episode adaptation of the 1992 film “A League of Their Own,” originally directed by Penny Marshall. Unlike the original film, the 2022 adaptation, directed by Jamie Babbit, focuses heavily on queerness and self-discovery. While the series does a good job of discussing gender, race and sexuality-based disparities, there is still a lot that could have been done better to make it a more enjoyable show.
The show follows Carson (Abbi Jacobson), a housewife who flees her former life to play professional baseball, and Maxine (Chanté Adams), a black woman from Rockford with similar aspirations. Despite being possibly the best pitcher any of the women have ever seen, Maxine is denied the opportunity to formally try out for the team because of her race.
One thing that seemed to be lacking in the first part of the season was fleshing out the secondary characters. We don’t get much backstory on any of the non-leads until about episode six, when we are randomly given information about characters that is intended to be meaningful but falls flat due to lack of build up — it’s just too little, too late.
An example of this occurs after a fight between Lupe (Roberta Colindrez) and Esti (Priscilla Delgado), the show’s two Latine characters. The audience is set up for a reconciliation that addresses Lupe’s frustration with Esti’s inability to speak English, as well as possibly a reflection on her own internalized racism.
Instead, Lupe reveals that Esti reminds her of the daughter she was forced to give up, a detail that the audience is given no setup for prior to the interaction. It reads as an overly generated reason to create conflict between the two characters.
The two primary love interests, Greta (D’Arcy Carden) and Carson, pose another issue with the show. Though a large part of the show focuses on the romantic relationship between the two, Greta’s treatment of Carson throughout much of the season makes it difficult to root for the couple’s success.
Greta is framed as a woman who knows and loves herself and uses society’s expectations of her to her own advantage — qualities that are empowering for much of the season. However, as her and Carson’s relationship develops, Greta soon becomes unlikeable. While there is nothing inherently wrong with an unlikeable or flawed character, the show attempts to keep the audience invested in the couple’s “happily ever after” beyond their care for Greta herself.
While Carson certainly has her own share of problematic behavior throughout the show, the season continues with Greta pulling Carson in and immediately pushing her away when Carson needs her most. In one instance, Greta even forces Carson to chaperone her date with a man as a way to make her jealous. Though the two share good chemistry in some episodes, in large part, their relationship seems toxic.
As a whole, the first season of “A League of Their Own” was an interesting and enjoyable take on the original film and did an excellent job at providing the audience with a basic understanding of queer culture and history in the U.S. during World War II. Despite some of its shortcomings, if you’re looking for a show that examines issues of queer identity, self-discovery, racism and sexism, this might be the one for you.
Sierra Martinez is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com
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