{
  "id": 4722390,
  "title": "Chicago Cubs pivot to rom-coms",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/chicago-cubs-pivot-to-rom-coms",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-31T17:41:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The A.V. Club",
    "slug": "the-a-v-club",
    "url": "https://www.avclub.com/chicago-cubs-rom-rom-nine-innings-to-love"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Chicago Cubs are expanding their brand horizons beyond baseball by venturing into the romantic comedy genre. The team recently unveiled \"Nine Innings To Love,\" its inaugural full-fledged romantic drama, which will premier on their TikTok account on September 4. Consisting of 17 short-form episodes, this series will not involve any of the famous Chicago improv artists or the Steppenwolf Theatre crew, but will instead focus on Veronica Garrubbo's Ava and Sid Kutikkad's David, two Gen Z-ers who meet and fall for each other at Wrigley Field's iconic bleacher seats. As per the Cubs' executive vice president of marketing and communications, Jen Martindale, the characters were crafted to resonate with fans who frequent the ballpark for both the game and potential off-field encounters. Starring Angelina Dávila, Kevin Kantor, Shelby Brown, and Cole Steeves, the rom-com is directed by Adam Sobel. While the concept may seem unconventional for a baseball team, it seems that even the Boston Red Sox have successfully navigated this uncharted territory, clinching a championship.",
  "summary": "The ballclub-produced TikTok series Nine Innings To Love premieres September 4.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Pete Crow-Armstrong homers 3 times as the Chicago Cubs pound the Cincinnati Reds 17-5",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/pete-crow-armstrong-homers-3-times-as-the-chicago-cubs-pound-the",
        "published": "2026-08-29T21:18:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Paul Sullivan: Pete Crow-Armstrong crashes Cubs’ 150th anniversary party with historic day at Wrigley Field",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/paul-sullivan-pete-crow-armstrong-crashes-cubs-150th-anniversary",
        "published": "2026-08-30T00:46:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}