Alex Morgan Hopes Her TV Show Changes Attitudes About Women Athletes
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U.S. women’s national team and Portland Thorns star forward Alex Morgan and her teammates have been appearing on red carpets, late-night talk shows, and celebrations around the country in what appears to be a sea change of sorts for the attention given to women athletes.
But her latest project, which might end up making even more of a difference in how women athletes are publicly perceived than her team’s recent World Cup win, is one you may not have heard of unless you have middle-school aged kids: Morgan is producing a children’s television show for Amazon.
Read More: Who Attends the Women’s World Cup?
Morgan’s show, The Kicks, is based on a bestselling book series she wrote for middle-schoolers about four soccer-playing girls. The show is just a pilot for now, adapted from Morgan’s books by David Babcock, a writer and producer who worked on big network hits like Brothers & Sisters and Gilmore Girls. The episode is filmed mockumentary style and portrays Devin, the main character, as a normal—awkward at times—tween girl struggling to fit in after moving across the country. Her move is also complicated by the fact that her new school’s soccer team is terrible.
The show doesn’t shy away from showing Devin makeup-less and sweaty during practices and games. This Saturday, July 25, The Kicks wraps up a month-long Amazon pilot season, which features six different shows for kids. Amazon will decide which shows to greenlight for full series based on user ratings and reviews.