Marlins Chosen for Season Two of "The Franchise"

[Party]

Not surprisingly, given all the fanfare surrounding them, the Marlins are being considered as the featured teamfor Showtime's "The Franchise," the popular baseball docuseries." The pay-per-view channel confirmed earlier in the week that it has ordered a second season of the series, which last season examined the behind-the-scenesworkings of theSan Francisco Giants after they won the World Series.

With a new ballpark on the horizon, new uniforms, a vociferous manager (Ozzie Guillen) and a new cast of stars, the Marlins are a natural fit for the Showtime series, which last season averaged more than 650,000 viewers per episode.

Showtime is granted exclusive access in order to present a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the sport.

To get an idea, take a look at the first episode from last season here.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/fish_...franchise.html

[Mainge]

Is this like MLBs Hard Knocks?

[TheMendozaLine]

Marlins "being considered"?! More like Showtime executives "get on their knees and beg fellate Jeffrey Loria . . ."

[Fritz]

From what I see, it seems pretty cool. Maybe not as good as Hard Knocks, but pretty close.

[tjfla]

Marlins "being considered"?! More like Showtime executives "get on their knees and beg fellate Jeffrey Loria . . ."

In other words they asked the Marlins to be on it,Loria said what do u pay and Showtime said nothing

Loria does NOTHING for free

[Mainge]

Sound business plan

[jOOj]

It was a great show last year. I would be watching.

[Jay]

i'd buy or at least rent the the season afterwards.

[MiamiHomer]

Showtime and Major League Baseball are believed to be close to a deal that would make the Miami Marlins the featured team in the second season of docuseries "The Franchise."

"The Franchise" embeds cameras with its focus team over a period of months to gain on- and off-field insight.

A year ago, the series followed the San Francisco Giants in the wake of their 2010 World Series title and averaged 651,000 viewers over eight episodes.

In contrast, the Marlins (who changed their name from Florida to Miami over the winter) finished in last place in their division in 2011, but they offer other storylines including a new stadium, a personality-filled new manager in Ozzie Guillen, and established and rising stars in Heath Bell, Mark Buehrle, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes and Mike Stanton.

Carlos Zambrano, who was traded to Miami after a volatile 10 years with the Chicago Cubs, could also get considerable on-camera play.

Last year, Showtime offered a sneak preview of "The Franchise" in April before premiering the series in July.

Showtime close to hooking Marlins for 'Franchise'

[Miamarlin21]

I'll be watching.

[Omar]

Big fan of this happening

[Big Z]

I'm excited, can't wait! DVR!

[Jay]

I'm surprised that blurb failed to mention twitter superstar Logan Morrison.

[Big Z]

Imagine we had Nyjer Morgan too.

[Miamarlin21]

I'd rather not.