On ESPN2, ESPN+ This Friday: Premiere of 'Bananaland' Original Series, Live 'Banana Ball' Games

Bananaland, a five-part ESPN+ Original series taking fans behind the scenes of baseball's craziest, most innovative franchise, will premiere Friday, August 19, on ESPN+ and ESPN2.

Capturing the origins of the Bananas' wild, new style of baseball, Bananaland follows the team's owners, players, coaches, and staff as they embark on a seven-city "World Tour" in their quest to bring the revolutionary rules and extravagant showmanship of Banana Ball to the masses.

· Episode 1 debuts on ESPN+ Friday morning and will air on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET.

· The remaining four episodes will premiere exclusively on ESPN+ on Fridays through September 16.

· The series features former Major League Baseball stars who make appearances playing for the Bananas, including Bill Lee, Jake Peavy, Jonny Gomes, and more.

The linear debut of Episode 1 on ESPN2 follows a live Savannah Bananas game played by Banana Ball Rules on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET. The Bananas will host the Party Animals at Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Ga.

· ESPN anchor Ashley Brewer will be on-site for pre- and post-game coverage on SportsCenter, as well as @ESPN on Tik Tok and Instagram.

· SportsCenter on SnapChat will also cover the game with ESPN host Skubie Mageza in Savannah.

The Bananas are led by yellow tuxedo-clad owner Jesse Cole, the driving force behind their creative, zany and thoroughly entertaining approach to baseball.

· "We are beyond excited for the premier of Bananaland," said Cole. "The Banana Ball World Tour was magical and to have it shared as an ESPN+ Original is truly special. Fans will see things they've never seen before on a baseball field. From being a part of it and seeing it firsthand, this series will be a game changer in more ways than one."

· "The Savannah Bananas story is a uniquely American tale of ingenuity, vision and grit, but it's also incredibly fun and an authentic picture of how sports can bring people together," said Brian Lockhart, Senior Vice President, ESPN Original Content. "We've already seen how Jesse and the Bananas have done a phenomenal job promoting Banana Ball, but Bananaland will give fans a deep look behind the scenes to show where all that creativity and craziness comes from."

More Live Banana Ball Games

ESPN+ will stream five more Bananas games played by Banana Ball Rules, exclusively for ESPN+ subscribers.

Date Start Time (ET) Teams & Venue

Saturday, August 20

7 p.m. PARTY ANIMALS vs Grayson Stadium Savanah, Ga.

Friday, August 26

Saturday, August 27

Friday, September 2

Saturday, September 3

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 22.8 million subscribers. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $6.99 a month (or $69.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of the Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $13.99/month (Hulu w/ads) or $19.99/month (Hulu w/o ads). Subscribers to Hulu + Live TV also receive ESPN+ at no additional cost.