Brockmire

Brockmire is an American comedy television series that premiered on April 5, 2017, on IFC. The show stars Hank Azaria, Amanda Peet, and Tyrel Jackson Williams, with J.K. Simmons guest starring in the third season. Azaria plays a baseball play-by-play announcer based on a character he created for a comedy web series in 2010. IFC renewed the series for a third and fourth season, the fourth season being its last. The series finale aired on May 6, 2020.
Premise.
"Brockmire" follows Jim Brockmire, "a famous Major League Baseball announcer who suffers an embarrassing and very public meltdown on the air after discovering his beloved wife's serial infidelity. A decade later, he decides to reclaim his career and love life in a small town, calling minor league ball for the Morristown, Pennsylvania Frackers."
In the second season, Brockmire becomes the play-by-play announcer for the AAA New Orleans Crawdaddys.
Production.
Background.
In 2010, Azaria debuted the character of Jim Brockmire in the third episode of the Funny or Die web-series "Gamechangers", entitled "A Legend in the Booth". Brockmire is a baseball play-by-play announcer who is fired after a profanity-filled breakdown while live on air after discovering his wife was having an affair. Azaria based the character's voice and broadcasting style on Bob Murphy and Phil Rizzuto.
Azaria later appeared as Brockmire in 2012 on the NFL Network's "The Rich Eisen Podcast" to discuss the National Football League. In November 2012, with Azaria fielding offers for a movie based on the character, he sued actor Craig Bierko over the ownership of the Brockmire voice. Bierko claimed that he helped develop the character. Azaria won the case in 2014, as Gary Allen Feess, a United States district judge, ruled that, though both actors had been using a baseball announcer voice before and since meeting at a party in 1990, only Azaria's voice was, as Brockmire, a defined, "tangible" character and thus subject to copyright.
Development.
On February 22, 2016, it was announced that IFC had given the production, a comedy series based on the Brockmire character, a series order for a first season consisting of eight episodes. The series was set to be written by Joel Church-Cooper and directed by Tim Kirkby. Executive producers were expected to include Azaria, Church-Cooper, Kirkby, Mike Farah, and Joe Farrell.
On April 5, 2017, right before the series premiere, it was announced that IFC had renewed the show for a second season consisting of eight episodes. On March 29, 2018, it was announced that IFC had renewed the series for a third and fourth season. On December 12, 2019, the fourth and final season was announced for a spring 2020 premiere.
Casting.
Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Hank Azaria would star in the series as the titular Brockmire. On May 13, 2016, it was announced Amanda Peet had joined the main cast. On June 30, 2016, it was reported that Tyrel Jackson Williams had been cast in a series regular role.
In October 2018, it was announced that Tawny Newsome and Martha Plimpton had been cast in recurring roles for season three and that George Brett, Bob Costas, Richard Kind, Linda Lavin, J. K. Simmons, and Christine Woods would make guest appearances.
Filming.
In season one, baseball scenes of the show were filmed at Luther Williams Field in Macon, Georgia. Parts of season one, and the majority of season two, were filmed at Coolray Field in Gwinnett County, Georgia. In season three, filming took place at Regions Field in Birmingham, Alabama. 
Reception.
Critical response.
The first season of "Brockmire" met a positive response from critics. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 94% approval rating with an average rating of 6.72 out of 10 based on 17 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, ""Brockmire" insinuates itself as the series goes on, elevated by assured, compelling performances from Hank Azaria and Amanda Peet -- and a raw humor all its own." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 79 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Ratings.
In its first season, "Brockmire" was IFC's highest-rated new series and cable's most time-shifted new comedy, averaging over 500,000 live-plus-three-day viewers per episode.