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Chicago Cubs Announce Rom-Com Series 'Nine Innings to Love' for TikTok

The Chicago Cubs are releasing a scripted rom-com series, 'Nine Innings to Love,' on their TikTok account starting Sept. 4. The series follows an aspiring romance writer helping a seatmate find love at Wrigley Field, and features a cast of Chicago-based actors.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 distinct · 3 mastheads · 3 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 31 – Sep 1, 2026 Published 3h ago

Cubs Enter TikTok with Scripted Rom-Com

The Chicago Cubs have announced a new scripted series, "Nine Innings to Love," set to premiere on the team's TikTok account on Friday, Sept. 4. The rom-com, produced by the Cubs' creative arm Cubs Productions, is inspired by the real-life phenomenon of fans meeting and sparking a connection at Cubs games, according to the team.

Per the team's synopsis, the series "follows Ava (Veronica Garrubbo), an aspiring romance writer in a slump, and David (Sid Kutikkad), a sweet but love-shy seatmate who does not believe romance is real, over the course of one Cubs game." After an accidental bleacher meet-cute, Ava promises to help David find a summer fling inside Wrigley Field before the final out, leading to a series of swings and misses, a makeover, a returning ex, and a ninth-inning chase.

Angelina Dávila, Kevin Kantor, Shelby Brown and Cole Steeves also star in the series.

A Series Built for Ballpark Romance

The 17 short-form episodes span the timeframe of nine innings and are designed for social-first consumption. Adam Sobel, the Cubs director of content and production, directed the series, with production services provided by Chicago's Coyote Sun Productions.

"The inspiration for Nine Innings to Love came from a simple truth about the Wrigley Field Budweiser Bleachers: with general admission seating, you never know who might end up beside you," Sobel said in a press release announcing the project. "That felt like the perfect starting point for a love story. In Ava and David, we wanted to create characters relatable to bleacher fans who come to the ballpark."

Jen Martindale, the Cubs executive vice president of marketing and communications, added: "For generations, Wrigley Field has been a place where memories are made, friendships begin and love stories start. 'Nine Innings to Love' celebrates the magic of a summertime Cubs game through a bite-sized episodic format that's built for Gen Z and millennial audiences. By blending a game of baseball with BookTok fandom and the vibes of a classic rom-com, we've created a story that could only unfold in the Budweiser Bleachers at Wrigley Field."

Cast and Release Details

Veronica Garrubbo, who plays Ava, is a Chicago-based actor and singer who recently earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Northwestern University. Sid Kutikkad, who plays David, is a Chicago-based actor with several movie and stage roles to his credit.

Fans have already reacted with excitement to the team's announcement on TikTok, with one user commenting, "Hey chicago what do you say? the cubs are joining booktok today."

The series arrives just ahead of another Chicago sports-themed romantic offering: Hallmark announced in June that it "has been drafted" for this year's NFL-themed holiday movie, titled "Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story." That film, the third in the sports-themed franchise, will premiere at 7 m. CT on Oct. 17.

How each outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

Forbes

Framing: Announcement of a TikTok rom-com produced by the Chicago Cubs

as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC

Facts Included:

The series is titled 'Nine Innings To Love' and is produced by the Chicago Cubs for their TikTok channel.
The series launches on Friday, September 4th.
The official logline describes Ava (Veronica Garrubbo) and David (Sid Kutikkad) as the main characters.
Angelina Dávila, Kevin Kantor, Shelby Brown and Cole Steeves also star.
The 17 episodes span a timeframe of nine innings.
Created and written by Cubs Productions, directed by Adam Sobel, with production services by Coyote Sun Productions.
Veronica Garrubbo is a Chicago-based actor and singer who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Northwestern University.
Sid Kutikkad is a Chicago-based actor.
Adam Sobel is the Cubs director of content and production.
Jen Martindale is the Cubs executive vice president of marketing and communications.

Read the source article →

NBC 5 Chicago

Framing: The headline highlights the name of the new Cubs TikTok series.

as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Cubs plan to release a new scripted series on their TikTok account
The 17-episode series is called 'Nine Innings to Love'
The series follows an aspiring romance writer as she helps her seatmate find love inside Wrigley Field before the final out
It is expected to be released Friday
The series will star Veronica Garrubbo and Sid Kutikkad
Fans on TikTok commented with excitement on the team's post
One user wrote 'Hey chicago what do you say? the cubs are joining booktok today'
The rom-com's release comes just ahead of a Bears-themed Hallmark holiday movie
Hallmark announced the film in June
The Bears 'have been drafted' for this year's NFL-themed holiday movie
The film is titled 'Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story'
It will mark the third movie in the sports-themed franchise
The film will premiere at 7 p.m. CT on Oct. 17

Read the source article →

Variety

Framing: Announces the new Chicago Cubs rom-com series 'Nine Innings to Love'

as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Nine Innings to Love
Chicago Cubs
TikTok account
Sept. 4
17 short-form, social-first episodes
Cubs Productions
Coyote Sun Productions
Adam Sobel
Veronica Garrubbo
Sid Kutikkad
Angelina Dávila, Kevin Kantor, Shelby Brown and Cole Steeves
Jen Martindale
Wrigley Field Budweiser Bleachers

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimThe Chicago Cubs announced plans to release a new scripted series called 'Nine Innings to Love' on their TikTok account.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (3 outlets · 2 distinct) via NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC, Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimThe series 'Nine Innings to Love' consists of 17 episodes.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (3 outlets · 2 distinct) via NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC, Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimThe series follows an aspiring romance writer as she helps her seatmate find love inside Wrigley Field before the final out.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (3 outlets · 2 distinct) via NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC, Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimThe series is expected to be released on Friday, September 4th.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (3 outlets · 2 distinct) via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimThe series will star Veronica Garrubbo as Ava and Sid Kutikkad as David.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (3 outlets · 2 distinct) via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimAngelina Dávila, Kevin Kantor, Shelby Brown and Cole Steeves also star in the series.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimFans on TikTok commented with excitement on the team's post announcing the show.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC
ClaimOne user on TikTok wrote: 'Hey chicago what do you say? the cubs are joining booktok today'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC
ClaimThe rom-com's release comes just ahead of a Bears-themed Hallmark holiday movie.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC
ClaimHallmark announced the Bears-themed film in June, saying the Bears 'have been drafted' for this year's NFL-themed holiday movie.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC
ClaimThe Hallmark film is titled 'Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC
ClaimThe film will mark the third movie in the sports-themed franchise.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC
ClaimThe film will premiere at 7 p.m. CT on Oct. 17.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC
ClaimThe series was inspired by the real-life phenomenon of fans meeting and sparking a connection at Cubs games.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimThe 17 episodes span a timeframe of nine innings.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimThe series was created and written by Cubs Productions.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimThe series was directed by Adam Sobel.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimProduction services were provided by Chicago's Coyote Sun Productions.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimVeronica Garrubbo is a Chicago-based actor and singer who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Northwestern University.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC
ClaimSid Kutikkad is a Chicago-based actor.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC
ClaimAdam Sobel is the Cubs director of content and production.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimJen Martindale is the Cubs executive vice president of marketing and communications.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC
ClaimThe series takes place in the Wrigley Field Budweiser Bleachers.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC, Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC
ClaimThe series is described as a rom-com.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (3 outlets · 2 distinct) via Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC, Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, NBC 5 Chicago as of Sep 1, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC
ClaimThe series is built for Gen Z and millennial audiences.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Forbes as of Sep 1, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC, Variety as of Aug 31, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 distinct · 3 mastheads · 3 articles consulted: Forbes, NBC 5 Chicago, Variety 25 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-09-01