Will Graham on A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN’s Cancellation and Stevie Nicks’ DAISY JONES & THE SIX Love

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN debuted on Prime Video in August of 2022, quickly amassing a fervent fanbase and praise. But despite the apparent (streamers don’t release ratings) success, Prime Video still waited nine months to announce a renewal…for a short, final season of the series.

While not exactly what fans had been hoping for—at a time when queer, inclusive stories tend to fall by the wayside—it at least seemed like there would be a chance for the story to wrap up. 

But then a final twist was delivered in August—Prime Video opted to not move forward with the planned final episodes, citing the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. (Co-creator/star Abbi Jacobson quickly corrected things on Instagram, calling the false blame on the necessary labor movement “bulls— and cowardly.”)

At the showrunner picket earlier this week, ALOTO co-creator Will Graham echoed Jacobson’s frustrations with the narrative. “Look, it’s a complicated moment in the business for a lot of people,” Graham tells Give Me My Remote. “We’ve seen a wave of inclusive shows on Amazon and other platforms not get treated with the respect and the appreciation for what they’re doing that I think they deserve. I think using the strike as an excuse was not the best idea. I think in reality it had much more to do with what’s going on internally for them, in terms of the business and the kinds of shows that they value.” 

“But I think, at the same time, seeing the intensity of the response to LEAGUE, which I still get dozens of messages about every day from people who are watching for the first time…” Graham continues. “I think one of the questions we all have to ask in this moment is what does success look like when it’s not a global action franchise? Because I think by any conventional measure, LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN was a huge success. We were lucky enough to win awards, we’ve been appreciated and honored. We had a big viewership, we were in  Nielsen Top 10 streaming for three weeks, which we’re all proud of. So I think that does have to do with why we’re out here [picketing], and ultimately fighting for an ecosystem that allows shows that are unique and saying something new to thrive.”

It’s been a roller coaster of a summer for Graham, who also co-ran the Prime Video series DAISY JONES & THE SIX…which got a lovely shout-out from music icon Stevie Nicks. 

“Just finished watching @daisyjonesand6 for the 2nd time,” she wrote on Twitter. “In the beginning, it wasn’t really my story, but Riley [Keough] seamlessly, soon became my story. It brought back memories that made me feel like a ghost watching my own story. It was very emotional for me. I just wish Christine could have seen it. She would have loved it. Hopefully it will continue…”

Praise from Nicks, whose band Fleetwood Mac was one of the inspirations behind Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel that the series was based on, was “amazing,” gushes Graham.

“It was an incredible bright spot in the middle of the strike,” Graham says. “She’s an icon and she’s someone that was really an inspiration for Taylor’s book. And for the show, we put a lot of time in reading about Stevie and watching interviews with her. So just to know she liked the show enough to watch it twice was pretty incredible. [Executive producers] Lauren [Levy Neustadter] and Scott [Neustadter] were so excited. I think for Taylor that was a huge moment.”

Right now, the writer is focusing on the ongoing WGA strike. “I feel simultaneously so lucky to make shows I feel so passionately about and that I love so much. And at the same we’ve all seen the changes in the industry in the past five or six years,” Graham says. “Some of them are for the better, and a lot of them aren’t. And that’s why we’re out here—to get that fair deal that allows everyone to go back to work.”

RELATED:

• Showrunners Express Solidarity Amidst the Ongoing WGA Strike: ‘We’re Sticking Together’
• DAISY JONES & THE SIX: How Does the Ending Compare to the Book?
• DAISY JONES & THE SIX: See the Six Best Band Shirts and Sweatshirts You Can Buy Now
• A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN: Prime Video Releases New Trailer for Upcoming Series Adaptation

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