The Backyard Sports franchise will soon return after a nearly decade-long hiatus. Announced today, Playground Productions will bring the games back—and introduce the iconic characters to TV, film, and other media.The franchise began in the late 90s with Backyard Baseball, developed by Humongous Entertainment, and soon blossomed to include entries focused on skateboarding, hockey, football, and more. The last releases before the new announcement were 2015's Backyard Sports: Baseball and Backyard Sports: Basketball.Per Variety, Backyard Sports creator and Playground Productions founder and CEO Lindsay Barnett called the franchise "more than just a game; it’s a cherished part of childhood for millions of people. I look at media as the largest classroom in the world. As such, our goal is to produce meaningful content that not only entertains but also educates and inspires. The return of Backyard Sports is the perfect embodiment of that goal."
Backyard Sports and Playground Productions
Playground Productions labels itself "a children's and family company focused on making best-in-class film, television, digital media, and video games while also promoting literacy, STEM, and social emotional learning."The Playground Productions site further lists a number of media items from the likes of The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline detailing the media group's "substantial" investment.While details are scant on the new game releases, the transmedia angle is interesting. Iconic Backyard characters like Stephanie Morgan and Kenny Kawaguchi were a memorable part of many a millennial's childhood, making the play for film and TV a potentially potent one. The new animated trailer features a number of the existing characters getting ready to play, and ready to tackle children's media in a real sense.