April 5, 2017 (2017-04-05) – May 6, 2020 (2020-05-06)
Brockmire is an American sitcom that premiered on April 5, 2017, on IFC. The show stars Hank Azaria, Amanda Peet, and Tyrel Jackson Williams, with J. K. Simmons guest starring in the third season. Azaria plays a baseballplay-by-play announcer based on a character he created for a comedy web series in 2010. IFC renewed the series for a third season and a final fourth season.[1][2] The series finale aired on May 6, 2020.
Premise
Brockmire follows Jim Brockmire, "a famous Major League Baseballannouncer who suffers an embarrassing public meltdown on the air after discovering his wife's serial infidelity. A decade later, he tries to reclaim his career and love life in a small town, calling minor league ball for the Morristown, Pennsylvania Frackers."[3]
In the second season, Brockmire becomes the play-by-play announcer for the AAA New Orleans Crawdaddys.[4][5]
Cast and characters
Main
Hank Azaria as Jim Brockmire, an alcoholic, drug-using former Kansas City broadcaster fired in 2007 for an on-air tirade against his unfaithful wife (along with a press conference where he tries to set things right but only makes them worse). In the ten years since, he spent most of his time in Asian countries calling non-traditional sporting events, such as cock-fighting.
Amanda Peet as Jules James, the owner of the Morristown Frackers (formerly Savages), which her father originally owned, along with the town's main bar. She is competitive and will do anything to attract fans to the games. (seasons 1, 4; recurring, seasons 2–3)
Tyrel Jackson Williams as Charles, the Frackers head of digital media, responsible for webcasts of the games. Although talented with computers and technology, he has little athletic ability-or interest in sports (including baseball). (seasons 1–2; recurring, seasons 3–4)
J. K. Simmons as Matt "The Bat" Hardesty, a former baseball player turned sports announcer (season 3)
Tawny Newsome as Gabby Taylor, a former NCAA Champion softball player and Brockmire's new broadcasting partner (season 3)
Reina Hardesty as Beth Brockmire, Jim's Filipino-American daughter (season 4)
Recurring characters
Season 1
Paul Rae as Dale, a Morristown resident who acts in stereotypical redneck fashion, frequenting both Frackers home games and the local bar. In season 2, it is revealed that he died in a meth lab fire.
Hemky Madera as Pedro Uribe, a baseball player for the Morristown Frackers, as well as a former Major League all-star.
Utkarsh Ambudkar as Raj, Brockmire's broadcasting partner for the Atlanta minor league affiliate New Orleans Crawdaddies, as well as his main competitor for a big-league broadcasting job with the Braves in Atlanta, Georgia.
Becky Ann Baker as Jean Brockmire Glasscock, Brockmire's sister.
In 2010, Azaria debuted the character of Jim Brockmire in the third episode of the Funny or Die web-series Gamechangers, entitled "A Legend in the Booth". Brockmire is a baseballplay-by-play announcer who is fired after a profanity-filled breakdown while live on air after discovering his wife was having an affair. Azaria based the character's voice and broadcasting style on Bob Murphy and Phil Rizzuto and his sport coats on that of Lindsey Nelson.[37]
Azaria later appeared as Brockmire in 2012 on the NFL Network's The Rich Eisen Podcast to discuss the National Football League.[38] In November 2012, with Azaria fielding offers for a movie based on the character, he sued actor Craig Bierko over the ownership of the Brockmire voice. Bierko claimed that he helped develop the character.[39] Azaria won the case in 2014, as Gary Allen Feess, a United States district judge, ruled that, though both actors had been using a baseball announcer voice before and since meeting at a party in 1990, only Azaria's voice was, as Brockmire, a defined, "tangible" character and thus subject to copyright.[40]
Development
On February 22, 2016, it was announced that IFC had given the production, a comedy series based on the Brockmire character, a series order for a first season consisting of eight episodes. The series was set to be written by Joel Church-Cooper and directed by Tim Kirkby. Executive producers were expected to include Azaria, Church-Cooper, Kirkby, Mike Farah, and Joe Farrell.[41]
On April 5, 2017, right before the series premiere, it was announced that IFC had renewed the show for a second season consisting of eight episodes.[42] On March 29, 2018, it was announced that IFC had renewed the series for a third and fourth season.[43] On December 12, 2019, the fourth and final season was announced for a spring 2020 premiere.[44]
Casting
Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Hank Azaria would star in the series as the titular Brockmire.[41] On May 13, 2016, it was announced Amanda Peet had joined the main cast.[3] On June 30, 2016, it was reported that Tyrel Jackson Williams had been cast in a series regular role.[45]
The first season of Brockmire met a positive response from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 18 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Brockmire insinuates itself as the series goes on, elevated by assured, compelling performances from Hank Azaria and Amanda Peet -- and a raw humor all its own."[52]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 83 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[53]
Ratings
In its first season, Brockmire was IFC's highest-rated new series and cable's most time-shifted new comedy, averaging over 500,000 live-plus-three-day viewers per episode.[54]
