TV Talk: Is ‘A League of Their Own’ worth watching?

Amazon Prime Video’s “A League of Their Own,” filmed mostly in Western Pennsylvania and streaming Friday, is definitely the best series spin-off of the 1992 Geena Davis-Madonna-Tom Hanks movie.

The previous iteration, a forgettable 1993 CBS sitcom, was pretty bad.

Where the original film explored sexism with a passing reference to racial discrimination (and homosexuality only as subtext), Amazon’s “League,” developed by Will Graham and Abbi Jacobson, puts race and sexuality front and center. It’s a choice that works better in one portion of the series than in another.

While the story largely centers on Carson (Jacobson again) and her Rockford Peaches baseball player teammates, there’s a parallel story about Black pitcher Max (2016 Carnegie Mellon grad Chanté Adams) and her comic book-loving, hilarious best friend, Clance (British actress and scene-stealer Gbemisola Ikumelo, the show’s MVP). It’s absolutely the best part of the show, perhaps because it feels less rote and less like a story viewers have seen before.

Max’s internalized homophobia stems from seeing her mother’s rocky relationship with Max’s aunt, “an invert,” or what we’d today consider a trans person. Thanks to Clance, these scenes mix pathos with some of the show’s lightest, funniest moments.

League is a bit of a structural odd duck by necessity. The story of Max and her sexual awakening is more complex than any of the Peaches’ stories, especially Jacobson’s character, who is mildly annoying. But Max can’t join the Peaches because of the racism of the era, so the writers contrive a way for her to meet Carson.

Set during World War II, Carson’s husband is away in the U.S. Army, so she leaves home and lands the job as the catcher for the Peaches, where she’s smitten by Greta (D’Arcy Carden, “The Good Place”), whose height and demeanor call to mind the Geena Davis character from the original “League” movie. Greta is a lesbian but has lived in her queer skin long enough to keep it on the down low as the time period required; Carson is more puppy-dog idealistic, which eventually leads to trouble.

By the end of the eight-episode series, almost all the Peaches’ players have developed into full-fledged characters, but early standouts include pitcher Lupe (Roberta Colindrez, whose look brings to mind E.R. Fightmaster crossed with Katherine Moennig), tomboy Jess (Kelly McCormack) and Jo (Melanie Field), a seeming stand-in for the Rosie O’Donnell character from the film. O’Donnell guest stars in episode six as a new character, the bartender Vi.

Amazon’s “League” borrows a few lines (“There’s no crying in baseball” in episode five) and at least one song (“Victory Song,” the official anthem of the All-American Girls Professional League Players Association in episode eight) from the “League” movie, but opts out of other parallels.

Nick Offerman’s coach character ­— a nothingburger of a role that’s ultimately inconsequential — is a big departure from Hanks’ coach in the movie.

After a while, the series becomes less reminiscent of the “League” movie and more similar to a Sapphic version of “The Facts of Life,” thanks to all the players sharing a boarding house. Greta is a Blair, Jo is the Natalie, Lupe and Jo are both Jos and while there’s no Tootie because of racism, the Peaches’ chaperone, Beverly (Dale Dickey), is a less warm and cuddly Mrs. Garrett.

By the end of the first season, it’s hard not to be invested in the Peaches as a team, but it’s an occasionally bumpy road getting to the point that the series and its characters become entirely embraceable.

Quinto on ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’

Earlier this season, NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” (7 p.m. Sunday, WPXI-TV) came to Pittsburgh to chronicle Billy Porter’s genealogy journey. This week, it’s another Pittsburgh native’s turn.

Green Tree native Zachary Quinto visits Pittsburgh (twice!) in the episode as he tracks down genealogical details.

On his mother’s side, Quinto learns his great-grandfather P.J. McArdle (the namesake of Pittsburgh’s McArdle Roadway) was a labor leader and past Pittsburgh city council president. Quinto even reads a letter McArdle wrote that shares a saying with the “Star Trek” character, Spock, played by Quinto in the recent films.

Quinto recounts the death of his father when Quinto was 7 and ends up taking a trip to Italy to learn about a starling event in his ancestors’ life — and he gets to meet a paternal second cousin for the first time, who has a photo of the grandfather Quinto shares his name with, Zaccaria Quinto.

Regional Emmy nominations

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy nominations were released earlier this week with Pittsburgh stations receiving numerous nods, but the NBC/Telemundo duopoly in Philadelphia collected the most nominations with 62.

Among Pittsburgh outlets, WQED Multimedia was on top with 25 nominations, followed by WPXI-TV (18), WTAE-TV (17), KDKA-TV (12), Pittsburgh Penguins (11), AT&T SportsNet (10), Ya Momz House Inc. (9), Red House Communications (4), UPMC Digital Content & Production (4), Flying Scooter Productions (3), TribLive.com (3), University of Pittsburgh/Pitts Studios (2), Awesome Films/Pitt Studios (1), Public Source (1) and Wright Road Productions (1), Pittsburgh District USACE (1).

Channel surfing

On Aug. 3, WTAE-TV meteorologist Ashley Dougherty posted to her Facebook account that she gave birth to a daughter, Willow Marie, on Aug. 1 and expects to be back from maternity leave in November. … WPXI-TV confirmed it will air “NBC News Daily” in place of “Days of Our Lives” when the soap moves to Peacock exclusively on Sept. 12. … The final, 10-episode season of Hallmark Channel’s “Chesapeake Shores” premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday. … Adult Swim’s “Rick & Morty” returns for a new season at 11 p.m. Sept. 4. …“The Orville,” which started on Fox and then moved to Hulu, is now streaming all three produced seasons on Disney+. … AMC is developing a new “Max Headroom” series with original star Matt Frewer on board. …. ABC’s “The View” officially named Ana Navarro a co-host and will add former Trump administration communications strategist Alyssa Farah Griffin to replace Meghan McCain. … Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”) will host the “74th Emmy Awards” 8 to 11 p.m. Sept. 12 on NBC and Peacock. … Netflix canceled animated comedy “Q-Force” after a single season. … After not airing in 2022, the Golden Globes will be back on NBC in 2023, per The Hollywood Reporter.