FOX comes out swinging with a great new pilot.
FOX's new baseball drama Pitch gets off to a strong start that's fully aware of the powerful story its telling. The series premiere works as a great intersection of baseball and smart storytelling that touches on relevant issues and has a great cast to back it up.
Pitch tells the story of Ginny Baker (played by star-in-the-making Kyle Bunbury), the first woman to play in Major League Baseball. The pilot picks up the morning of her first game pitching for the San Diego Padres. Over the course of two games, she deals with the overwhelming pressures on all sides demanding she succeed.
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We want to hear it.Pitch's marketing proclaims it as "a true story on the verge of happening," and that comes across in every frame of the pilot. This might be fantasy for now, but with our nation on the verge of potentially having its first female president, a lot of the larger social conversations in Pitch feel timely and honest.
Director Paris Barclay (Sons of Anarchy) knows his heroine doesn't need to speak to convey her mind, and he rightfully lets commentary voice overs speak to the larger conversations taking place. (For all that it could come off feeling like brand marketing, the collaboration between FOX and the MLB on this scripted series works well for Pitch.)
The most powerful moment of the episode comes toward the beginning when Ginny sees a young girl outside Petco Park holding a sign above her head that says "I'm next." Ginny sees herself in the girl and the girl in herself. It's moments like that -- which are a little heavy handed in the pilot -- which ground this fictional story in reality and relevance. And though Ginny is briefly overwhelmed by the weight of the world's expectations on her shoulders, the far more compelling parts of the story is how she fits into the baseball world.
Kylie Bunbury as Ginny Baker in FOX's Pitch
If the show eventually deals with whether Ginny Baker is ready for the responsibility of being a progressive icon or whether she's the right person for it, none of that comes across here. Ginny is a strong ballplayer and a hard worker who fought hard to get to the place she is when the series picks up. We see her as a solid role model worthy of the repeated comparisons to Jackie Robinson. The most personal angst she has is some residual drama with her father that will inevitably get explored further.
Again, this specific situation is fantasy, but many of the moments where Ginny deals with being a woman trying to fit into a man's world ring true. The pilot isn't steeped in negativity; maybe it's creator Dan Fogelman and Rick Singer's optimism or maybe it's the association with the MLB, but this world is rooting for Ginny's success. Her colleagues might be skeptical of whether she's more than a publicity stunt and might be concerned for her success only as it relates to their own, but for the large part society is on her side. The most fantastical element of the pilot is that there aren't trolls on the Internet pitted against her, but then again, there is a plot point where it's noted Ginny isn't especially social media savvy.
Burbury's performance helps make Ginny the most interesting part of the pilot, and by extension every character that interacts with her makes for compelling screentime. The show knows it has something special with the dynamic between Mark-Paul Gosselaar's baseball MVP Mike Lawson and Bunbury's Ginny, and plays into it. It's the drama between the secondary characters -- like a C-storyline involving a will-they/won't-they flirtation between Ali Larter and Mark Consuelos' characters -- that detract from what otherwise is a stellar premiere. Let those plot threads come later; for now, Pitch should be all about selling Ginny.
Kylie Bunbury as Ginny Baker in FOX's Pitch
Luckily, Ginny Baker is a great character on which to hinge a series. The time feels right to tell this story, and judging by the way it's being told, the right people are handling it. The question is whether Pitch can continue to live up to its potential, but like its main character, you'll find yourself rooting for it after you get a chance to see it in action.
The Verdict
Pitch gets off to a strong smart thanks to a great performance by leading lady Kylie Bunbury and a story that feels relevant to today's world. The pilot's story arc feels like a truncated movie plot, but there's plenty of potential ready to be mined. The well-directed series premiere sets the stage for what could be FOX's next big fall hit.
Pitch premieres Thursday, September 22nd on FOX.
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