The “Field of Dreams” TV adaptation is no longer happening at Peacock, Variety has learned exclusively. Universal Television is currently shopping the project to other outlets.
The show adaptation of the 1989 movie was ordered straight-to-series at Peacock in August 2021. Michael Schur was set as writer and executive producer under Fremulon, with Lawrence Gordon of The Gordon Company also executive producing with David Miner of 3 Arts and Morgan Sackett. The Gordon Company produced the original film, which starred Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan and the late Ray Liotta.
The show was set as a reimagining of the movie, which saw an Iowa farmer (Costner) build a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield after being prompted by a mysterious, otherworldly voice. The field eventually draws in ghosts of legendary baseball players like “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (Liotta).
The film was based on W. P. Kinsella’s 1982 novel “Shoeless Joe.” The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including best picture.
Schur’s credits include creating “The Good Place,” co-creating of “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” and Peacock’s “Rutherford Falls,” which recently dropped its second season. He also served as executive producer on Freevee’s upcoming “Primo” and HBO Max’s breakout hit “Hacks.” He is currently under a reported nine-figure overall deal at Universal TV.
This is now the second high-profile project from a producer under a rich overall deal to get its plug pulled in the past month. Earlier in June, HBO announced it was not moving forward with the J.J. Abrams’ original sci-fi series “Demimonde.” That show was rumored to have a significant price tag attached, at a time when the newly-merged Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to cut major expenditures per the orders of CEO David Zaslav.
“Field of Dreams” would have also been the second beloved baseball movie to be adapted into a streaming series. Amazon is preparing to launch its own adaptation of “A League of Their Own,” which is set to debut on Aug. 12.
