Backyard Baseball Animated Special Featuring Tiffany Haddish Expected in 2026

The iconic 1997 video game Backyard Baseball is being adapted into a 2D animated special titled "Sticky Situation," produced by Playground Productions and Lighthouse Studios. The special features a star-studded voice cast including Tiffany Haddish, Arturo Castro, Ego Nwodim, and Donald Faison, and follows the story of the team’s star player Stephanie "Bubbles" Morgan as she searches for her lucky bubble gum before game time. Lindsay Barnett, Playground Productions CEO and former elementary school teacher, acquired the rights to Backyard Sports after a lengthy search involving a private investigator and reverse-engineered the original games to make them playable on modern devices. The animated special is independently financed with support from Dave & Buster’s and will be released both on the Backyard Sports YouTube channel and at Dave & Buster’s locations across the U.S. This project marks the first scripted adaptation of the Backyard Sports franchise, with hopes for future adaptations involving other sports in the series. The production aims to introduce the nostalgic and inclusive spirit of the original games to a new generation.