Art will continue to imitate life in the upcoming final series of FXX’s (formerly on FX) The League. As the fantasy football-centric series has done over the past six seasons, season 7 will incorporate real-life NFL controversy, from concussions to the Seahawks’ surprising final Super Bowl play, to the infamous Deflategate.
“The NFL keeps giving us such great material,” said Jackie Schaffer, series co-creator, while discussing what fans can expect in the final season during Friday’s TCA summer press tour panel. Jackie’s husband and co-creator Jeff Schaffer confirmed that Deflategate will be the focus of an episode. However, with a lawsuit challenging Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for allegedly being part of an effort to deliberately underinflate footballs last season, the show had to film alternate scenarios in case anything changes.
Brady himself won’t be on the show, but running back Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks will be. His cameo spoofs the final offensive call his team made in last season’s Super Bowl match-up against the Patriots — a call that ultimately cost them the victory. As Seahawks season ticket-holders, the Schaeffers came up with the scene after grieving for the appropriate amount of time. “After we cried ourselves to sleep for the next month, we knew what the scene had to be about,” they told EW. Lynch was a natural choice, both because of his unfortunate lack of involvement in the now notorious play and his previous guest appearance on the show.
The League will have several guest stars reprise their roles. Will Forte, Rob Riggle, Ike Barinholtz, Zach Woods, and Leslie Bibb will all appear in season 7, alongside series stars Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll, Jon Lajoie, Katie Aselton, Stephen Rannazzisi, and Paul Scheer.
Once The League‘s final season wraps up, fans shouldn’t spend a month of their own crying themselves to sleep. The Schaffer’s hinted that the series could possibly return in some capacity down the road. “I think there’s still ways to play with this group, just in different forms,” said Jeff. That leads the door open for the whole 6 (or 7 in this case) seasons and a movie scenario.
The final season of The League premiere on Sept. 9 at 10/9 c on FXX.
