Back in the Game premiers tonight, starring Maggie Lawson and James Caan, and Hypable visited the set of ABC’s newest comedy to play ball with the cast!
Back in the Game centers around a single mother (Lawson) and her estranged father (Caan) who are brought back together to coach her son’s misfit baseball team.
Hypable played a friendly game of softball with the cast, and we got the scoop on why we should root for this irreverent new comedy.
Here are five reasons we’re willing to give Back in the Game a shot:
1. ABC’s calling it up to the big leagues.
Positioning the show right between The Middle and Modern Family in its Wednesday comedy block, the network is hoping to bridge the gap between the hit shows.
With season 2 of The Neighbors airing on Friday nights and Suburgatory in midseason purgatory, Back in the Game could be the glue to finally bring the Wednesday night line up together.
2. James Caan is a terrible person.
Okay, James Caan is actually a pretty nice guy, but his character, Terry Sr., is kind of terrible. Terry is insulting, irreverent, a little bit racist, but potentially hilarious!
The legendary actor is returning to network television for the first time since exiting Las Vegas in 2007. Caan has since had a role on Starz’s Magic City alongside multiple film projects.
Referring to his Back in the Game character, Caan said, “I’m a horrifying person.” He adds, “I don’t call any of the kids by their names. [I say] ‘Hey, fat kid!’ It’s terrible.”
Terry “The Cannon” Gannon is a former baseball star who has never really been there for his daughter in the way she needed. His rough exterior doesn’t help matters, but according to Caan, there’s more to Terry Sr. than meets the eye.
“He’s got the heart of a little dove,” Caan admitted.
3. A few of our cable favorites are on network TV!
Maggie Lawson has made a name for herself playing Shawn’s detective love interest on USA’s Psych for seven seasons. The actress is taking on a lead role in Back in the Game playing Caan’s character’s daughter, Terry Jr.
Terry is a single mom to son Danny (Griffin Gluck) and steps up to coach little league baseball despite her complicated past with her pushy baseball star father.
Lawson will reportedly appear in a few episodes of Psych‘s eighth season, although she did refer to Juliet in the past tense during our Q&A session.
British beauty Lenora Crichlow will be recognized by fans of the original BBC version of Being Human. The actress has starred as ghost Annie on the supernatural dramedy since 2008 and is bringing her talent and charm stateside this fall.
Crichlow plays fashionista (possibly gold-digging) team mom Lulu who uses money from her late husband’s will to fund the little league team.
Of her character, Crichlow says, “Lulu’s the best one in it and you can quote me on that! She’s pretty fabulous.”
4. The creators might be insane.
According to Caan, Mark and Robb Cullen are “completely insane.” He is not referring to their stint as executive producers of last year’s ill-fated and ill-conceived Work It, which followed two men dressing in drag to get better jobs. Caan is referring the the brothers’ mission to push the network censor envelope as far as humanly possible with his character’s dialogue.
The brotherly duo also executive produced Las Vegas during Caan’s last season on the show. Work it survivor Ben Koldyke has a role on Back in the Game as Lawson’s rude, crude, wannabe love interest.
While Caan says the brothers “literally belong in a home,” Lawson says they have actually found a really good balance and have hopefully set up the characters for longevity in a brutal comedy market.
When asked about the idea of longevity with a show centered around a team, Lawson said, “The creators are actually doing a great job…baseball is just more of a backdrop for this show.”
She adds that she was immediately impressed with the balance from the first time she read the script, saying, “The pilot alone – it was all there.”
5. The kids are method actors.
“They haven’t got one athletic gene in them,” said Caan of his young co-stars.
Apparently, when casting the show about an untalented little-league team, the producers went in search of the real thing. The young actors are learning on the fly and many of them admit to being just as un-athletic as their characters.
“They’re real kids. They’re not ‘actor-kids,’ you know,” said Caan.
Griffin Gluck (Just Go with it), who plays Terry’s son Danny, shared that Caan has actually been giving the actors private baseball lessons.
Disney channel’s J.J. Totah plays Lulu’s fabulous son Michael and, like his character, is way more interested in fashion than baseball. Totah is full of charm and hilarious enthusiasm and, honestly, the show might just be worth watching to see what he brings to the table.
There you have it. Those are five reasons we will be watching Back in the Game tonight to see if it sinks or swims with The Middle and Modern Family.
Lawson said she hopes audiences will connect with the characters the way the actors have, telling Hypable, “We’re having so much fun, I hope the audience just wants to come hang out with us every week.”
Photos courtesy of ABC.