Fall TV premiere season 2016 introduced a plethora of brand new series into the primetime lineup, and there was the usual mixture of sitcoms, legal procedurals, and reboots. One show that stood out from the rest with a truly unique premise was Pitch on Fox, which tells the story of the first female pitcher to make it to the major league. Unfortunately, Pitch doesn't have solid enough ratings that fans can expect a second season at this point, and actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar had this to say about whether or not he is betting on a Pitch Season 2:
Absolutely. I'm not even entertaining the thought that we won't come back. Mo [McRae] and Kylie [Bunbury] and myself, we've all said that we'll give our bodies about a month break before we go into our preseason routine and begin training again for next season.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar's optimistic words in his chat with TVLine have to come to a relief to any fans who have grown accustomed to seeing him in all his bearded glory as San Diego Padres catcher Mike Lawson. He may not have any sway over whether or not the show actually gets a second season, but it's a good sign that he feels confident enough to plan a workout routine with his co-stars. Assuming that Fox does give Pitch an order for Season 2, we can count on seeing Mike Lawson, Blip Sanders, and Ginny Baker in similarly good shape.
Of course, an actor showing enthusiasm for his job isn't enough to guarantee that his show will stay on the air. Despite critical claim and a stamp of approval from the PTC, ratings for Pitch haven't been anything special. The series premiere drew a decent 1.06 rating in the valuable 18 - 49 demographic and attracted 4.2 million viewers, but the rating hasn't scored above a 1.01 since the second episode, and the viewership has been dropping on a weekly basis. The numbers just aren't good enough to make Season 2 a sure thing.
Luckily, they're also not bad enough to knock Pitch out of the running for a renewal. Although viewership has continued dropping over the past few weeks, the ratings in the 18 - 49 demographic have remained more or less steady. Critics enjoy it, and it does well with DVR viewing. Throw in the fact that the show has already won a loyal and vocal following, and Fox could have more than enough reasons to give the show a second season. If execs need any extra reasons, they can always check out the #RenewPitch tag on Twitter to see fans sharing pleas for why the show deserves more.
Hopefully Fox will come out with some good news for those fans sooner rather than later. Tune in on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET to see what's next for Ginny, Mike, and the rest in Pitch Season 1, and join me in crossing my fingers that Pitch won't be one of the shows to be cancelled this season.
