The STW Daily News Round Up featuring all the news fit to (digitally) print for Sunday, July 3rd, 2022. Field of Dreams dropped by Peacock!?
Field of Dreams: If You Film It, Networks Will Come
After ordering a series adaptation of the insanely popular 1989 Kevin Costner film Field Of Dreams in August of last year, NBC streamer Peacock has abruptly dropped the new series from its roster. With Parks & Recreation/The Office alum Michael Schur still on board as creator and showrunner, Universal TV is now shopping the update to other networks and streamers.
For those unfamiliar with the original film, it was based on the book Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. Both follow Iowan farmer Ray Kinsella (Costner) on a journey through time and across America as he attempts to understand what compelled him to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his farmland.
The baseball diamond draws some mysterious long-dead figures from the past out of the Iowa corn, most notably Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), and eventually Kinsella’s own father. It’s a trippy film that is part road trip movie, part baseball film, and part an exploration of the universally complicated dynamics of the parent/child relationship.
And it sounds like the Schur update will take audiences on a similar journey, dipping its toes into various genres and themes. According to Deadline, the series “was set to reimagine the mixture of family, baseball, Iowa and magic that made the movie so enduring and beloved.”
Before being suddenly dropped by Peacock, the series was reportedly about to begin filming. Casting was already in process, and seven hour-long scripts had already been completed. The series was slated to begin filming in Iowa, Boston, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis.
With pre-production already at an advanced stage, likely a new network or streamer will swoop in and nab the Schur project up in no time. Schur built it, and the networks will come.
It’s a Yes From Us, Dawg
Best known for being a finalist in the eighth season of American Idol back in 2009, Anoop Desai is steadily building up his acting resume. And up next is a trip to Staten Island. The vocalist-turned-actor nabbed a recurring role in the newest season of What We Do In The Shadows, which premieres on July 12th on Hulu and FX. The multi-hyphenate will have a major occurring role, appearing in six of Season 4’s ten episodes.
Desai made his acting debut in a 2020 episode of the Showtime drama Billions, and appeared briefly in Little Voice and Netflix’s trippy Russian Doll. With those being very small roles, the WWDITS run will be the performer’s most visible role since performing for Randy and the gang back in his American Idol days.
On WWDITS, Desai will play “an acquaintance of Nandor’s from his ancestral homeland,” meaning he too is likely an immortal bloodsucker.
The fourth season of What We Do In The Shadows premieres on FX on July 12 with new episodes hitting Hulu the morning after. The series has already been renewed for fifth and sixth seasons.