TCA press tour: ‘Back in the Game’ hopes to win while losing

Here’s a spoiler alert about “Back In The Game,” a new ABC show featuring a baseball team of young misfits:

The team is just horrible, but although the show has some echoes of “The Bad News Bears,” this team will not win a game all season.

But that’s really beside the point, according to the producers of the series, which is kind of a mix between “The Bad News Bears” and Clint Eastwood’s father-daughter baseball drama.

PHOTOS: TCA press tour: The Scene

Maggie Lawson plays Terry Gannon Jr., who was an all-star softball player until life threw her a few curve balls: a baby, a lost college scholarship and a cheating loser for a husband. Her son Danny (Griffin Gluck) in tow, Terry moves back in with her estranged father, Terry Sr., a.k.a. “The Cannon” (James Caan), an opinionated, beer-guzzling ex-athlete who is not exactly a great role model.

The show takes a “Bad News Bears” turn when Terry is hired to coach a team of young misfits. Of course, her father winds up helping out.

Don’t expect a game of the week. The family dynamic will be a central focus.

Said executive producer Robb Cullen, “This is not a baseball show.”

“This team is never going to score a run,” executive producer Mark Cullen said. “None of these kids is gong to be a great player. We just want them to have fun.”

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