Sports Icons Present the Soccer Romance ‘Cleat Cute’
From female athletes Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe
Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe’s production company, A Touch More, is developing its first scripted series based on the soccer romance ‘Cleat Cute’ by Meryl Wilsner.
Sports icons Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe are getting in the game as TV producers.
Bird and Rapinoe’s production banner, A Touch More, has teamed up with independent TV studio Future Shack Entertainment to develop “Cleat Cute,” the bestselling novel from author Meryl Wilsner.
“Cleat Cute” is a contemporary queer romance that follows a young soccer player as she juggles being the new rookie, her goals of making the national team, and a budding romance with her team captain.
“Sports is a universal language and breeding ground for world class storytelling,” said Future Shack CEO Jeff Wachtel in a statement. “As women’s sports captivate audiences around the globe, we’re proud to partner with two of the most iconic athletes of our time, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird, to bring Meryl Wilsner’s delightful world to life in a bold, sexy and fun ensemble show.”
Bird, Rapinoe, and A Touch More’s head of development Camille Bernier-Green will executive produce the forthcoming project alongside Wilsner.
“Having spent most of our lives on teams, we want to celebrate the ways in which relationships, both romantic and platonic, are organically created through sports,” added Bird and Rapinoe. “‘Cleat Cute’ will not shy away from the messiness, occasional frustration, and undeniable beauty that come with loving the game and the players within it.”
“Cleat Cute” marks A Touch More’s first foray into scripted content following its 2022 launch. Bird, a five-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA and NCAA basketball champion, and Rapinoe, a two-time FIFA World Cup-winning soccer superstar, founded the company in partnership with sports media and commerce company TOGETHXR, and with the mission to championing diverse stories.
Its first project ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcast “Pink Card,” which followed women in Iran fighting for the right to watch soccer. With the addition of Bernier-Green last September, the company plans to expand its scripted and nonscripted titles as it explores the sports landscape and beyond. A Touch More is represented by UTA.
Wilsner’s “Cleat Cute,” which surged in popularity thanks in part to BookTok, continues their run of hits following 2020’s “Something to Talk About” and 2022’s “Mistakes Were Made.” Film and TV rights for Wilsner are represented by Katherine Curtis of New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. All other rights for the author and “Cleat Cute” are represented by Patrice Caldwell and New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc.
Future Shack is currently in production on “Good Cap/Bad Cop,” a comedic crime procedural for the CW, Roku and Australia’s Stan starring Leighton Meester, Clancy Brown and Luke Cook, as well as the upcoming Fox crime drama “Murder in a Small Town,” starring Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk.
The studio is also developing “Grand Stand-In,” from writer-producer Gretchen Enders; “The Long Fall” from writer Walter Mosley; “Ender’s Game” with Gigi Pritzker’s Madison Wells; and Iuliia Mendel’s memoir “The Fight of Our Lives.”
2024 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
FEATURE PHOTO CAPTION, TOP: Sue Bird is introduced during her jersey retirement ceremony after the game between the Seattle Storm and the Washington Mystics at Climate Pledge Arena on June 11, 2023, in Seattle, Washington. CREDIT: Steph Chambers/Getty Images/TNS)
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