Wake Up Call: Showtime plans ‘Hard Knocks’-type show around SF Giants

Jan 13, 2011, 9:00 AM EDT

Is the world ready for a baseball version of HBO’s Hard Knocks? Showtime apparently thinks so. According to Entertainment Weekly, the network is in early talks with producer Mike Tollin to do a docuseries that focuses on the San Francisco Giants. Of course my first reaction is that they missed the boat by about 12 months here, but this still may be a good choice. What are we going to watch, the Phillies pitching staff all go get haircuts? From EW:

Tollin’s an obvious choice to oversee the project, given his previous work on Bonds on Bonds, the 2006 docuseries for ESPN that followed the Giants outfielder through spring training and the baseball season. (Tollin’s got plenty of sports movies under his belt, too, like Varsity Blues, Coach Carter, Hardball, and the under-appreciated Summer Catch. And, let’s not forget his work on Smallville and One Tree Hill, too!).

Tollin probably has the good sense to realize that a little Brian Wilson goes a long way, so few worries on that front. And maybe Big Panda won’t be so big this year if there are cameras around documenting his food intake.

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