A series adaptation of “Field of Dreams” has been ordered straight-to-series at Peacock.
The television take on the beloved baseball film hails from Michael Schur, who will serve as writer and executive producer under his Fremulon banner. Lawrence Gordon of The Gordon Company will also executive produce along with David Miner of 3 Arts and Morgan Sackett. Universal Television, where Fremulon is under an overall deal, will produce. The Gordon Company produced the original film.
“Through the years, ‘Field of Dreams’ has remained a fan favorite, maintaining its rightful position in the zeitgeist,” said Lisa Katz, president of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “It’s whimsical and grounded, a space where Mike Schur excels, and we’re looking forward to bringing a new version of this classic to Peacock.”
Based on Universal Pictures’ Academy Award-nominated film, the series is said to reimagine the mixture of family, baseball, Iowa and magic that makes the movie so enduring and beloved.
The film was based on W. P. Kinsella’s 1982 novel “Shoeless Joe.” Released in 1989, it starred Kevin Costner as an Iowa farmer who receives instructions from a mysterious voice to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his corn field, which draws the ghosts of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other famous players. The film also starred Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, and Amy Madigan. It is widely regarded as an American classic and one of the best baseball films ever made. It was nominated for best picture, best adapted screenplay, and best score at the Academy Awards.
“’Field of Dreams’ is an iconic Universal Film title from venerable producers Lawrence and Charles Gordon, that we could only have entrusted to Mike Schur,” said Erin Underhill, president of Universal Television. “His talent, his love for baseball and his reverence for its themes make him the perfect choice to revisit this beloved film that evokes nostalgia and visceral emotion in so many of its fans.”
News of the series comes less than a week after Major League Baseball staged a game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox at the real Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA, where the film was shot. The game, which saw the White Sox win 9-8, was seen by 5.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched regular season MLB game in 16 years.
“Field of Dreams” marks the second Peacock series that Schur has created or co-created, with the first being “Rutherford Falls.” That show, which Schur co-created with Ed Helms and showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas, was recently renewed for a second season. Schur is also known for shows like the broadcast comedy hits “The Good Place,” “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”
He is repped by 3 Arts Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson.
This is the latest example of NBCUniversal mining their IP library for Peacock original programming. It was previously announced that Seth MacFarlane would adapt his comedy film “Ted” into a comedy series for the streamer, while TV reboots at Peacock include “Saved by the Bell,” “Punky Brewster,” and upcoming shows like “Battlestar Galactica,” “Queer as Folk,” and the drama reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” among others.
“Field of Dreams” is also not the first beloved baseball film to get the series treatment in recent years. Amazon is preparing to release a series version of “A League of Their Own,” while a series version of “The Sandlot” is in the works at Disney Plus.
Peacock is part of our parent company, NBCUniversal.