Several years ago, NBC Universal gave super producer Mike Schur, the creative mind behind Parks & Recreation, The Good Place, and more, basically a blank check to make reboot Field of Dreams as a limited series for its streaming service, Peacock.
This week on Pablo Torre Finds Out, Schur elaborated on just how much effort he put into the show before NBC canned it for financial and tax purposes. Schur literally built it, but his bosses at NBC ensured nobody would come.
Schur’s righthand producer is from Iowa, so the two traveled to the state and constructed a home and field in a rural area designed to resemble the original film’s set. The field had real baseball dimensions, an actual irrigation system, hidden power lines, and more.
Past Schur stars such as Kristen Bell, Nick Offerman and Andre Braugher were set to star.
https://twitter.com/pablofindsout/status/1714338320749093048
Torre interviewed the Iowans whose farm was used for the set and even they were excited about it all. Then NBC intervened, burning down the dreams if not the field itself.
“That’s the saddest part of this,” Schur said. “We went as far as you can possibly go without actually doing the thing that we set out to do.”
While emphasizing TV shows get axed all the time, Schur explained how the physical presence of the field and the symbolism of abandoning makes this story unique.
“We built it and they didn’t get the chance to show up,” Schur joked.
Through the rest of the episode, Schur explained how he wanted to explore nostalgia, memory and passion in the show. For anyone who’s ever watched The Good Place or even Parks & Rec, this won’t come as a surprise.
Schur has a kind spirit and so do his characters — and the characters in Field of Dreams. But Schur clearly wanted to take a closer look at goodness and memory through the lens of sports.
We’re still rooting for a show like that with a smart producer and writer like Schur behind it. Even if this one is dead and gone.
[Pablo Torre Finds Out on YouTube]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.