NewzTORONTO — If “Heated Rivalry” is about two men learning to be tender with each other, Crave’s new Sapphic sitcom “Slo Pitch” is kind of the opposite. So says star Jess Salgueiro, quoting one of the show’s creators, Karen Knox. The mockumentary is about a group of friends — mostly queer and mostly women — goofing off while playing beer league softball.
“You got to see men be very intimate in a beautiful, vulnerable way in ‘Heated Rivalry,'” Salgueiro said. “Now you get to see a bunch of mostly women be silly and kind of stupid.” Salgueiro plays Joanne, who coaches the Brovaries: “the only mostly queer team in the Mississauga Slo-Pitch League,” her character says in the pilot. Early comparisons between the two shows abounded.
When “Heated Rivalry” premiered late last year and took the culture by storm, Crave had already announced it was making “Slo Pitch” and fans were quick to draw parallels. Emily Hampshire, who plays Joanne’s egomaniacal ex Leanne (and who has since been cast in Season 2 of “Heated Rivalry”), said she texted one of the producers when she saw people making that comparison. “I’m like, I feel like this is a bad pitch for this show,” she recalled.
“Just because it’s from Crave, it’s queer, and it’s sports. But like, they’re good at hockey; we’re bad at slo-pitch. They have naked stuff; we have not naked stuff, but funny, sloppy stuff.” But Hampshire said that contrast — softness and vulnerability from men, crass levity from women — feels special.
“It’s what you think would be the reverse,” she said. Together, she said, Crave’s offerings broaden the landscape for queer representation on TV. For producer Elliot Page, the appeal was instant.
“The moment I heard the log line I was very excited and I was leaning in,” he said on a video call from New York. Crave approached his company Pageboy Productions about the project fairly late in the game, Page said. It’s part of a development partnership his company inked with Crave parent company Bell in early 2025.
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