The highly anticipated, female-led revelation ‘Pitch’ clattered into some hurdles but finished, ultimately, on top. Just.

There was a lot of talk about ‘Pitch‘ before it had even aired. Amidst all the trailers aired for each new show, ‘Pitch’ was the one to talk about. A sports-orientated show that seemed as good as ‘Friday Night Lights’? A female-orientated show about a black athlete breaking all boundaries to compete with the males, and make it? It just sounded too good to be true.

And it almost was. ‘Pitch’ has hit some rough waters and it’s not without its faults. Though perhaps perfectly casted (and we’ll get onto that later) it’s made a star out of Kylie Bunbury, rightfully so, for her portrayal as lead Ginny Baker. It’s also shown its fictional young girls and real-life young girls anything is possible. Even in a man’s world.

However, that didn’t put ‘Pitch’ immune from criticism. Though the premise is good, we doubted its longevity for a while. After seeing the finale and the journey Mike (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) endured throughout the season, those doubts are erased. There’s a bright future ahead for ‘Pitch’—one we’d really like to see. But ‘Pitch’ wasn’t without its melodrama, mediocre episodes and cheese.

It made up for it with some truly great moments, acting, writing—everything, really. But let’s break the season down and see what worked and what didn’t.

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There was never a failure within the cast—with showstoppers like Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mark Consuelos, Ali Larter and the new star in Kylie Bunbury.

Phew.

That may be the noise you make as you scroll down the impressive cast list ‘Pitch’ boasts. Its experience is magnetic with Gosselaar as the grumpy yet well-meaning captain Mike Lawson. Ali Larter and Meagan Holder shone as Amelia and Evelyn. Strong. Sassy. Someone you didn’t want to mess around with. Larter in particular shone as the earnest and tough Amelia.

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Holder, meanwhile, had her exceptional moment in the finale when she told Blip (Mo McRae) she didn’t want to have any more kids. Quite like the theme of the episode, she wanted to do things for herself.

Al (Dan Lauria) and Oscar (Mark Consuelos) were both characters who grew outstandingly throughout the show. Al was a hard nut to crack, and Oscar difficult to warm to. Until, with the help of some lovely writing, they blossomed. And Sarah Shahi’s (‘Person of Interest‘) cheeky appearance as Al’s daughter and Oscar’s girlfriend helped that along massively.

Tim Jo’s Eliot remains the puppy you want to pet. But we hope season two delves deeper into Eliot’s character. We weren’t sure of Amelia’s fate at the end of the season but the duo was a dream-team. Eliot as the social media (and tech) whiz was brilliant. He was adorably awkward, smiley, yet he stood up for himself. We’ll put it out there: a Yorkshire terrier.

The biggest revelation of them all was Kylie Bunbury by a mile. When the pilot aired, surely Bunbury was catapulted into mainstream media just like Ginny was. Bunbury was an overnight star and damn, did she deserve it or what? Subtlety, heart and warmth was what Bunbury brought to ‘Pitch’. Most importantly, she brought herself. Her ownership. Her independence. That was what made ‘Pitch’ so compelling: we truly cared about these characters. And when Ginny went down in the finale, everyone felt.

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The show lost itself in some soap-like melodrama sometimes.

When we said ‘Pitch’ ran into a couple of hurdles, we meant it. It’s not a massive issue: ‘Pitch’ was never going to be the perfect show. No show is. And our views vary massively from everyone else’s. It truly depends on what you look for in a show. But we don’t necessarily see imperfection as bad. If a show had nothing to improve on, we’d applaud it in silent amazement, but evolution is to be admired. Acceptance of such is, too.

And it happened sometimes. We get it: the world of baseball is hugely dramatic. The transfer deadline episode was a standout because whilst it was hugely dramatic, so is the actual thing in real life!

But in its predictable Ginny/Mike almost-romance, Mike’s inevitable “I’m not leaving and it’s a last-minute decision” storyline were things we could see coming from a mile off. Conversely, it’s relief that floods our systems when Ginny pursues her date with Noah (Tyler Hilton) and Mike reconciles with his ex-wife Rachel (JoAnna Garcia Swisher). The sibling-like ease Bunbury and Gosselaar play off with each other is entertaining to watch. It’s fun. Laid-back. Casual. And it’s just not foreseeable as a romance.

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The relationships on this show aren’t quite magnetic yet—but it’s material nearing to stuff you can’t tear your eyes from.

There are a bunch of relationships on this show that won’t make the cut but are still outstanding. That’s how well ‘Pitch’ have done this season. The plot’s been nearly procedural, though almost a guilty pleasure. Yet it’s the characters and their relationships, often messy, we are haplessly entangled with.

The best relationship came from by far the best episode. It had been culminating and evolving over the entire season, but Amelia and Ginny’s heartbreaking fight in the finale was devastating to watch. The moment in the airport where Amelia glimpses up to the screen and sees her client—her friend—injured is hard to tear your eyes from. Larter conveys a lot without any words. And we hope, though the ticket’s scanned, she doesn’t board that flight away from Ginny.

There’s a lot more. Blip and Ginny’s friendship has been charming from day one, as has Blip and Evelyn’s relationship. Again, it all boiled over in the finale in which everyone seemed to up their game. Amelia and Eliot stole the show in ‘Wear It’. If we could have a spin-off cop-show with the duo tracking Ginny’s whereabouts, we’d invest in a heartbeat.

Guest-stars were A-class and flooded in. Lyndsy Fonseca (‘Agent Carter’), Kevin Connolly (‘Entourage’), Sarah Shahi (‘Person of Interest’), Shamier Anderson (‘Wynonna Earp’) and even Jimmy Kimmel himself!

The only relationship we hope stays the way it is, is Ginny and Mike. Bunbury and Gosselaar have chemistry in bounds, but sometimes we just want to see a lady and a guy have an exceptional friendship. Who undoubtedly have each others’ backs. It was a close shave in episode nine, but we hope Mike keeps nailing Ginny’s cleats and Ginny keeps calling him old man.

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Final Verdict: It’s the end of Ginny Baker’s season as she takes full ownership of herself, and faces a horrifying dilemma ahead. ‘Pitch’ season two is a sure green-light.

Here’s what we say: the San Diego Padres gave Ginny Baker a chance. Consequentially, she became the beacon they looked to and an inspiration to little girls everywhere. She became a superstar. ‘Pitch’ season one hasn’t been the most captivating of starts, but to pull a big idea like this off was always going to be tough. We simply ask that Fox give ‘Pitch’ a chance, just like the Padres gave Ginny.

Dan Fogelman and Rick Singer have a lot to look over on in their improvements section. The acting’s been on-point, and the relationships forged yet to be brilliant. But in a ten episode season they have convincingly built decent back-stories for their main cast, and have left us with questions for a potential next season.

There has been no doubting the cinematography—it really is something to gorge on. The music score has been great work by John Ehlrich, though ‘Uptown Funk’ in the finale was a little questionable. Overall, the production has been top quality—and this show has potential. Foolishly, we expected something A-grade off-the-boot. But ‘Pitch’ isn’t. What ‘Pitch’ has in bucket-loads is promise, and that’s what Ginny Baker had coming into the Padres.

Look where she is now.

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Questions and Comments:

• Two people we guiltily haven’t mentioned enough are Mark Consuelos and Dan Lauria. Both played characters with immense pressure on them (and were awkwardly connected by Shahi’s Natalie) and they played it very, very well.
  • Al, though starting off as quite the toughie, became someone you sort of understood by the end. He was likeable, yet rock-solid. In the finale (where, again, everyone really stepped up) he was grin-inducing as the coach who shut the phone on Oscar.
  • Which brings is onto Mark Consuelo’s smooth-talking, sharp-suited Oscar. Though his heart is with money, his heart’s also with the Padres. Balancing the two meant that Oscar probably needed a Valium or ten for every sentence he spoke. What a bloke.
• I was thrilled to see Tyler Hilton! I’m a big fan of his Elvis in the feature-film ‘Walk the Line’ and thus was even more excited when he played us a song.
• We Want To See More Of Eliot In Season Two!
  • The title’s still in the making, but it’s our unofficial, unapproved petition for season two. Eliot’s been a great wingman for all occasions. Let’s dig deeper.
• Of all the new shows, I did personally think ‘Pitch’ had the strongest promise. As they aired, perhaps it didn’t have the best first season—but I still think it’s got huge room to develop.
  • It lies in the writing. We love the intense score. The use of music. But just scrub out some of the cheese. It’s part of ‘Pitch’ and its charm, but sometimes, it’s too predictable.