Netflix has won yet another bidding war as they secure the rights to Daddy Ball, an adaptation of a 2021 Esquire article. Jason Bateman, known for his starring role as Martin “Marty” Byrde in Netflix’s Ozark, will play double-duty as the series’ director and as an actor in a currently unspecified role. Aggregate Films, a production company founded by Bateman in 2012, joined forces with Netflix in order to win the rights to the series in an eight-sided bidding war earlier today.
Based on a 2021 Esquire article by David Gauvey Herbert, Daddy Ball tells the story of Bobby Sanfilippo and John Reardon, two dads locked in an intense youth sports rivalry that began normally, as most youth sports rivalries do, but quickly spiraled out of control as both fathers, who were also small-time criminals, dragged their dark pasts into the feud. What began on the little league baseball field would end with allegations of stalking, threatening text messages, police corruption, an unwarranted arrest, and connections to the mob.
As Deadline put it, “What went down in the summer of 2012 at Baseball Heaven will define [Sanfilippo and Reardon] and their families forever,” but “at the heart of it all, it’s a story about the lengths fathers will go for their sons.”
Netflix to Adapt Daddy Ball With Jason Bateman Starring and Directing
Netflix and Aggregate have confirmed that the limited series adaptation of Daddy Ball will be moving forward under a different name. It’s currently unclear what role Jason Bateman will play in Daddy Ball, but it’s likely that he may star as one of the two dads. Bateman, along with directing and acting in the series, will also executive produce, along with Michael Costigan and Roxie Rodrigue, for Aggregate Films.
It has not yet been confirmed whether or not David Gauvey Herbert will have any further involvement with Daddy Ball, though this isn’t the first of his articles to be adapted for the small screen. Boss of the Beach, which Herbert wrote for New York Magazine, is currently being adapted by FX and Searchlight, while Camp Shane is being adapted by ABC Signature and Josh Gad’s Angry Child Productions.
Are you familiar with the story of Daddy Ball? Are you excited to see it adapted for Netflix? Let us know in the comments!