Crave to Release New Sports Comedy #SloPitch in September

Canadian streaming service Crave will launch its new original series #SloPitch on September 25. The series follows a team of queer athletes in a beer league softball league. The new comedy builds on the success of the hit series "Heated Rivalry" but aims to avoid replicating it directly.

"Heated Rivalry," Crave's previous international smash hit, garnered a large audience and introduced queer romance within a sports context. In the wake of the series' success, several production companies have attempted to create similar sports-themed shows, but many have focused solely on the sport without queer representation. This has led to criticism that Hollywood has misunderstood the reasons behind "Heated Rivalry's" success.

Crave's new series #SloPitch aims to differentiate itself. While both shows are set in Canada, focus on sports, and feature LGBTQ+ characters, their approaches differ. "Heated Rivalry" is a drama and romance, whereas #SloPitch is a straight comedy centered on queer women, unlike its predecessor whose lead characters were queer men. This gender difference has raised concerns, as series focusing on queer women have historically faced cancellation.

Created by Gwenlyn Cumyn, Karen Knox, and J Stevens, the series combines comedy, sports, and queer representation to create something new. Crave's content chief, Casey Bloys, has previously warned against simply replicating "Heated Rivalry's" success formula into different sports, encouraging instead the taking of risks and supporting unique, underrepresented projects. #SloPitch fits this description by offering a narrative centered on queer women, a perspective rarely seen on television.

The series will be released exclusively in Canada on Crave. There are currently no plans for a U.S. release, but fans have already begun a campaign to get HBO Max to pick up the rights to the show.