'Field of Dreams' TV series written by 'Office' creator will film in Iowa this summer

If you build it, they really will come.

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, will film a limited series based on 1989’s “Field of Dreams” movie in Iowa this summer — but they won't use the Major League Baseball field that got its star turn last year.

The series — created by Mike Schur of “The Office,” “Parks and Rec” and “The Good Place” fame — will use “local crew, suppliers and vendors for construction, catering, transportation and set decoration,” according to an exclusive announcement in the Hollywood Reporter.

While much remains unknown about the show's story, the series "will reimagine the movie's mixture of family, baseball, Iowa and magic that made the feature so enduring and beloved," the Reporter said.

"Field of Dreams" follows an Iowa farmer, played by Kevin Costner, who builds a baseball diamond in his cornfields. Much to his surprise, the ghosts of baseball legends begin to frequent the field.

The diamond used in the movie, near Dyersville, has been preserved, and tens of thousands of fans flock to see the site, run the bases and hit a few balls throughout warmer months. A specially built park right next to it hosted the first official MLB game in Iowa last August.

Neither MLB's field nor the original diamond will be used in the series because this summer's scheduled game, on Aug. 11, will conflict with production, sources told the Reporter.

“What I love about this production is that it's taking the magic of Dyersville and widening the impact to other parts of the state,” said Liz Gilman, Iowa’s film commissioner. As of now, filming is set to take place in Polk, Mahaska, Clinton and Boone counties.

Discussion of the series began back in 2019, Gilman said, and the producers have been quietly coming to Iowa to scout locations ever since. Schur and executive producer Morgan Sackett, an Iowa native from the Okoboji area, were even in the stands for the MLB game last August.

“They were blown away at the reaction of the people there,” Gilman said. “I mean, you saw it on TV: The beautiful heavenly sky, the homerun into the cornfield, seeing grown men weeping. It was bucolic and beautiful and they were like, ‘Oh my gosh we have to come here.’”

Producers could have easily recreated a diamond on a backlot or in some other state, but Schor and Sackett knew how important Iowa, itself, was to the heart of the “Field of Dreams" story, Gilman said.

“The creative team behind this limited series cares deeply about the legacy of 'Field of Dreams,' and we felt we simply couldn’t make it without shooting in Iowa,” Schur and Sackett said in a joint statement to the Reporter.

“You can’t think of the movie without thinking of the state — and vice versa."

More: Big changes are coming to 'Field of Dreams' site. Can new owners maintain its mystique?

So far, named local partners include Renovo Media Group, a Clear Lake company which will offer technical expertise, and Musco Lighting and Iowa Sports Turf, which "will help light, design and construct the baseball field that will be featured in the show."

Much more about the series and production will be released in the coming weeks, including casting for extras, the schedule for a production assistant boot camp being held in Des Moines on June 4 and 5, and, of course, the stars.

"I haven't been told who the stars are, but I've been told they are 'names you know,'" Gilman said. "'A Hollywood legend' is a phrase the producers have used."

In the film industry, successful intellectual property like “Field of Dreams” is king, Gilman said. And many studios are reformatting and reengaging proven IP to amplify stories they know have a built-in fanbase.

“This will bring in a whole new generation of appreciation for ‘Field of Dreams,’ widening a story that’s been around since the 1980s,” Gilman said.

"Field of Dreams" was hatched in Iowa City for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and then written into a novel by author W.P. Kinsella. That book became a screenplay and then a cinematic classic and now a sports attraction in rural America.

“This is an Iowa story,” Gilman stressed, “and it’s the perfect story to reimagine as a digital series.”

And she’s especially glad the producers figured out what so many Iowans already knew: “There’s a certain magic in our cornfields.”

Follow Produce Iowa on social media or visit ProduceIowa.com to learn more about this summer's production.

More: Field of Dreams site to host MiLB game between Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids

Courtney Crowder, the Register's Iowa Columnist, traverses the state's 99 counties telling Iowans' stories. She's a parallel parking master acquainting herself with gravel roads. Reach her at ccrowder@dmreg.com or 515-284-8360. Follow her on Twitter @courtneycare.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Peacock's Field of Dreams TV show from Office creator to film in Iowa