Sue Bird And Megan Rapinoe Are Developing Steamy Sapphic Soccer Story ‘Cleat Cute’ For TV
The sports icons are adapting Meryl Wilsner’s popular novel into a scripted series centered on rivalry, desire, and elite women’s soccer.
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Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe are moving into scripted television with Cleat Cute, a sapphic sports romance currently in development under their production company, A Touch More. The series is an adaptation of Meryl Wilsner’s 2023 novel and is being developed in partnership with Future Shack Entertainment. No network has been attached yet, but hope is high as queer sports stories continue to find mainstream audiences.
Cleat Cute centers on elite women’s soccer, following two fictional athletes whose professional rivalry gives way to an increasingly complicated romantic relationship. Grace Henderson has been a fixture of the US Women’s National Team for a decade, despite being only 26. When an injury sidelines her ahead of the World Cup, her position is filled by Phoebe Matthews, a 22-year-old rookie. Their gameplay competition quickly becomes personal and eventually intimate.
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The novel has been described as a blend of Ted Lasso and A League of Their Own, and doesn’t shy away from sex and emotional vulnerability. Bird and Rapinoe optioned the book through A Touch More, their company launched under the Togethxr brand. The adaptation marks the company’s first scripted television project. Wilsner is attached as an executive producer, alongside Bird, Rapinoe, and A Touch More head of development Camille Bernier-Green.
“We are thrilled to be working with Future Shack to bring Meryl Wilsner’s wonderful book to life,” Bird and Rapinoe said. “Having spent most of our lives on teams, we want to celebrate the ways in which relationships, both romantic and platonic, are organically created through sports. Cleat Cute will not shy away from the messiness, occasional frustration, and undeniable beauty that come with loving the game and the players within it.”
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Future Shack CEO Jeff Wachtel framed the project as part of a broader moment for women’s sports on screen. “Sports is a universal language and breeding ground for world class storytelling. As women’s sports captivate audiences around the globe, we’re proud to partner with two of the most iconic athletes of our time, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird, to bring Meryl Wilsner’s delightful world to life in a bold, sexy and fun ensemble show,” he said.
For now, Cleat Cute remains in development, but expectations are high, particularly after the surprise success of HBO’s queer hockey series Heated Rivalry. If that momentum carries forward, Bird and Rapinoe may soon find the project scoring with a network of its own.
