Sticky Situation (Backyard Sports)
| Sticky Situation | |
|---|---|
| Based on | Backyard Sports |
| Directed by | Mike Roberts |
| Voices of |
|
| Composer | Jonny Shorr |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production companies |
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Sticky Situation, also promoted as Backyard Sports: The Animated Special,[1] is an upcoming animated special based on the Backyard Sports franchise. The special stars the voices of Tiffany Haddish, Arturo Castro, Ego Nwodim, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Donald Faison, Ashleigh Crystal Hairston, Adam Pally, and Utkarsh Ambudkar. It will be the franchise's second animated production after the live-action/animated Backyard Basics (2002),[2] the first original major production in the Backyard Sports franchise since its 2024 reboot, and is set to premiere at Dave & Buster's locations in 2026 before moving to YouTube.[3]
Premise
Team superstar Stephanie Morgan loses her lucky bubble gum 30 minutes before the first game of the baseball season, leading the Backyard Kids on a journey to find it.[1]
Voice cast
- Tiffany Haddish as Kiesha Phillips,[1] a husky, jovial African-American girl.
- Arturo Castro as Pablo Sanchez,[1] a short, athletically-talented Hispanic boy who normally speaks Spanish.
- Ego Nwodim as:[1]
- Stephanie Morgan, an African-American girl who is a major baseball enthusiast.
- Jocinda Smith, an athletic African-American girl.
- Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Dmitri Petrovich,[1] an intelligent Caucasian boy.
- Donald Faison as Dante Robinson,[1] a short, food-loving African-American boy.
- Ashleigh Crystal Hairston as Sunny Day,[1] an African-American girl who is the main commentator of the Backyard Baseball League.
- Adam Pally as Pete Wheeler,[1] a fast but slow-witted Caucasian boy.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar as Achmed Khan,[1] a Pakistani-American boy who loves rock music.
- Lindsay Barnett as:[1]
- Vinnie the Gooch, a snarky Caucasian boy who serves as color commentator of the Backyard Baseball League.
- Ashley Webber and Sidney Webber, Caucasian identical twin sisters who play tennis.
- Michael Vlamis as Tony Delvecchio,[1] a greaser-like Caucasian boy.
Production
Along with the announcement that Backyard Sports was being relaunched, it was stated that plans were made to expand the franchise into film.[4] In November 2024, it was announced that production on an animated project was about to begin.[5] The special was produced by Lighthouse Studios, with production finishing by October 2025.[6]
On October 28, 2025, it was announced that Tiffany Haddish, Arturo Castro, Ego Nwodim, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Donald Faison, Ashleigh Crystal Hairston, Adam Pally, and Utkarsh Ambudkar had joined the cast for the special and that it would premiere at Dave & Buster's locations in 2026 before moving to YouTube at a later date.[1]
Future
Playground Productions executives Lindsay Barnett and Chris Waters have stated an interest in producing more Backyard Sports animated projects, including a potential scripted series, if the special is successful.[1][7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Campione, Katie (2025-10-28). "'Backyard Baseball' Video Game Lands First Ever Adaptation With Tiffany Haddish, Arturo Castro & More All-Stars Voicing Animated Special". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-11-14.
- ^ Ball, Ryan (2002-11-13). "NFL Films gets animated". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ read, Jacob Feldman·2 min (2025-11-13). "Backyard Sports to Launch New Game in '26 After Re-Releases". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2025-11-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Sharf, Zack (2024-08-20). "Pablo Sanchez Returns! 'Backyard Sports' Video Game Franchise Set to Relaunch and Expand Into Film, Television and More". Variety. Retrieved 2025-11-14.
- ^ "'Backyard Sports' Franchise Currently Developing First Next-Generation Video Game". SI. 2024-11-19. Retrieved 2025-11-14.
- ^ Bankhurst, Adam; Peyton, Michael (2025-10-10). "Backyard Sports Leads Announce Completion of the Retro Collection, Discuss Animated Special Wrapping Production, and More". IGN. Retrieved 2025-11-14.
- ^ Feldman, Jacob (2025-11-13). "Backyard Sports to Launch New Game in '26 After Re-Releases". Sportico.com. Retrieved 2025-11-17.