From “Scandoval” to soccer ball. Reality TV uber producer Alex Baskin (“Vanderpump Rules,” “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”) and his 32 Flavors shingle have partnered with tech mogul Alexis Ohanian, soccer star Midge Purce and sports doc producers Box to Box Films (“Drive to Survive,” “Break Point”) to produce the sports docuseries “The Offseason.”
National Women’s Soccer League player Purce, who is also a U.S. Women’s National Team forward, created “The Offseason” and will be featured in the series. Purce, a forward for the NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL is partnered in the endeavor with Ohanian, who is the lead investor of the NWSL’s Angel City FC team.
“It was a radical idea in 2019 for me to start an NWSL club in LA, and in 2023, everyone in Hollywood told me it was a radical idea to incubate a production company and unscripted show like ‘The Offseason,’ which makes me think we’re already on the right track,” Ohanian said in a statement. “All of the most successful reality TV shows feature women, and with Midge’s vision & these acclaimed producers’ execution, everyone is going to realize women’s sports was an obvious vehicle all along. Someone just had to be first.”
“The Offseason” takes a look at professional athletes during the key off-season training period. The six-episode, half-hour series follows 11 NWSL players as they spend two weeks in Miami “training, partying and living together under one roof. For the first time in sports history, some of the best players, rivals and teammates across a league are living in one house with uncensored access to their personal stories, interpersonal relationships and on-field journey.”
Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six will finance the series, which is already in production.
“Midge presented us with the exclusive opportunity to produce an original narrative around women’s sports framed around an offseason tradition she established with the NWSL,” 32 Flavors CEO Alex Baskin said in a statement. “This was a story that needed to be told, and one that we think represents an entirely new lane of programming. We’re so grateful for Midge’s ingenuity, our creative collaborators at Box to Box Films and the unflinching support from Alexis, whose firm belief in the series has made it a reality.”
Purce called the show a mix of “‘Vanderpump Rules’ meets ‘Drive to Survive’ with elements entirely of its own. Fueled by the combined energy of incredibly competitive athletes, the series shines a light on our unpublicized lives in between seasons.”
Besides Purce, the cast includes fellow athletes Maria Sanchez, Lo’eau LaBonta, Michelle Alozie, Taylor Smith, Nikki Stanton, Ally Watt, Taryn Torres, Paige Nielsen and Ify Onumonu.
Box to Box co-founder Paul Martin added: “Box to Box pushes creative boundaries in documentary storytelling and ‘The Offseason’ is just that: the ultimate crossover of premium sports doc and high-end reality featuring some of the most exciting, new, hot-ticket sports stars on the planet. We’ll be working with excellent collaborators in Alexis, Midge, and Alex to bring the spotlight to these incredible women giving global audiences a glimpse behind the scenes of what it takes to make a sportswoman a sports star.”
Production companies for “The Offseason” are 32 Flavors and Box to Box Films. Executive producers are creator Purce and Ohanian; Baskin, Jeff Festa and Shari Levine for 32 Flavors; and Martin and James Gay-Rees for Box to Box Films. Danielle Medina and Jordan Jenkins are also executive producers, with Medina on board as showrunner.
