The League

Premise

Set in Chicago, the series revolves around six friends who participate in a fantasy football league. The show follows the friends, who would do anything to win, while also dealing with the after effects of their pranks and often dangerous antics they perform on one another.

Cast

Main characters

Mark Duplass as Peter "Pete" Eckhart: Three-time league champion who separates from his wife Meegan (Leslie Bibb) in the pilot episode. Several episodes revolve around his interaction with women. Pete is known for tricking his gullible friends (particularly Taco and Andre) into making poor fantasy-football trades they call "trade rapes." He works in a cubicle in sales, avoiding doing actual work as much as possible, though in the season 5 episode "The Automatic Faucet" he declares he is done with fantasy football and focuses solely on work—except for when he helps his boss set up a team for an office project much like he did with his fantasy-football lineup, which actually earns him a promotion. In Season 7, he becomes a referee. He creates, and is commissioner of, the "Sacko", the "worst-team" trophy created during the episode "The Reunion". He still holds the North Winnetka High School pole-vault record. He once got a "Fear Boner" when he bought Chicago Bears tickets from a man in the park. In the series finale, Pete wins $1 million and retires into the sunset, winning the beach house. It is also revealed that Pete, not Andre, is the father of Meegan's child.

Nick Kroll as Rodney Ruxin: A Jewish product-liability attorney, he is just as ruthless and obnoxious in the League as he is in the courtroom. He "out-kicked his coverage" with his wife Sofia, so goes to great lengths to please her. He is constantly torn between his need to please her and his desire to crush his League opponents. In many episodes, and all of season 3, Ruxin is extremely paranoid, often thinking that his opponents are "trying to get into his head", or that other League members are "in collusion" to cheat him, but his paranoid hunches have been correct at least twice: in "Expert Witness" and "The Lockout." In "The Bounce Test," he describes his own appearance: "I look like a Nazi propaganda cartoon of a Jew." He and Sofia have a son named Geoffrey ("Baby Geoffrey"). He hates being called Rodney, preferring to be called Ruxin; his sister Rebecca (Lizzy Caplan) calls him the "Rod-Man" and Taco sometimes calls him "Ruspin," two nicknames he finds equally unfavorable. He wins the season-2 League championship. In high school his reputation for dating large women earned him the nickname "The Herdsman." He inherited his sarcastic nature from his father Rupert (Jeff Goldblum), who also prefers to be called Ruxin. After catching Kevin in his "clown car of lies," he declares season 3 to be null and void and claims himself winner via default after miraculously healing (upon catching sight of Shiva) from the after-effects of a stress-induced stroke from discovering the collusion. He then agrees that the events of season 3 of the TV show—season 7 of their actual League-—would count in exchange for becoming the new league commissioner—and for the naming rights to Kevin and Jenny's newborn, which he trades to Taco for his #1 draft pick. He is commissioner only in season 4. Ruxin is a graduate of Northwestern University.

Recurring characters

Nadine Velazquez as Sofia Ruxin, Ruxin's Latina wife. She has a close friendship with Taco, which Ruxin cannot stand. She dies while undergoing vaginal rejuvenation in Puerto Rico.

Jason Mantzoukas as Rafi, Sofia's deranged, obnoxious brother, aka "Bro-lo el Cuñado." Best friend and possible lover of porn director Dirty Randy. He shared a bed with Sofia until she was 18. He was an altar boy as a child, but had to quit after he raped a priest. He always calls Pete "Tall Guy" and believes Kevin's name is Brian. His residence has a large number of "load-bearing chairs" stacked up and has a "toilet-kitchen." Rafi stores a never-ending supply of hotdogs in his pants, referring to them as "pocket dogs." He is a diabetic. He gets "murder boners" when practicing his MMA skills and gets a "war boner" when playing paintball. He thinks that he is Baby Geoffrey's true father. Occasionally he has suggested that he and Sofia shared an incestuous relationship in the past (not directly denied by Sofia). Many times when he vomits, he defecates; many times when he defecates, he orgasms. Ruxin's sarcasm led him to take on the role of Bobbum Man in real life. He is apparently killed by Dirty Randy in a duel. In Season 6's "When Rafi Met Randy," it is revealed Rafi was once a normal family man until Randy's business partner fell to his death on top of Rafi's wife and two sons, killing them all. After numerous suicide attempts, Rafi was checked into a mental asylum along with Randy. An overzealous nurse subjected them both to shock therapy that would alter their minds and result in their current deranged states. Immediately after Randy revealed that he was responsible for the deaths of Rafi's family, Rafi was subjected to a partial lobotomy that made him forget them completely. It is also revealed how Rafi was returned to life via special means.

Alina Foley as Ellie MacArthur, Jenny and Kevin's young daughter. She has inherited her parents' profane language, which got her in trouble with her first grade teacher, Ms. Martin.

Janina Gavankar as Shivakamini Somakandarkram, a doctor who was the valedictorian of most of the League members' graduating high school class. She is a urologist, specializing in genital reconstruction. She usually appears on season finales, as she's the "patron deity" of the League's trophy. They each present an item to the trophy, which contains a high school photo of her. The only odd episode out is "The High School Reunion" when she was present with the league, revealing in the process that Pete's mother's windshield was not busted by a high school friend but rather by Kevin when he lost his virginity to Shiva. Shiva cursed the 2012 season of the League because they would not take her picture off the trophy. She also dated Andre towards the end of Season 1.

Notable guest stars

Fox NFL analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw in season 1 episode 3 "Sunday at Ruxin's".

San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates in season 1 episode 4 'Mr. McGibblets" and the final episode of season 6 "The Beach House".

Then-Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson in season 2 episode 1 "Vegas Draft".

Then-Cleveland Browns kick return specialist Josh Cribbs and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs in season 2 episode 3 "The White Knuckler".

Then-Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, then-Atlanta Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes and then-Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice in season 3 episode 1 "The Lockout".

ESPN fantasy football analyst Matthew Berry in season 3 episode 3 "The Au Pair".

Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte in season 3 episode 13 "The Funeral".

Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Matt Kalil, Ryan Kalil, Felix Jones, Brandon Carr, Jason Witten, Jay Ratliff, DeSean Jackson, Rich Eisen, Chris Brockman, and Jerry Jones in season 4 episode 1 "Training Camp"

Then-wife of then-Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, Kristin Cavallari in season 4 episode 4, "The Breastalyzer".

Then-Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in season 4 episode 5 "Judge MacArthur".

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon in season 4 episode 6 "The Tailgate".

The League's fictional league

Teams

Andre – "The Double Ent-Andres" (formerly "The Ooh, Ruxin Got Serveds", "The I Had Allergies", "The Twilight Breaking Dawn-dres" and "The James B-Andres")

Kevin – "Too Hot to Handle" (formerly "The Ruxin Looks Like a Middle-Aged Lesbians", "The Fighting MacArthurs", and "The Pleasures of Andre's Sister")

Pete – "The Shit Heads" (formerly "3-Pete")

Ruxin – "Jenny Top/Kevin Bottom" (formerly "Pete Top/Kevin Bottom", "The Kevin's Micro Dongs", "The MacArthur's Crotch Nubbs", "The Andre Cried While Watching "Jumanjis"", and "The Fear Boners")

Taco – "Password is Taco" (formerly "The Encino Men")

Vince (drops out in 2010)

Rafi (replaces Vince in 2010)

Jenny – "The Lady MacArthurs" (replaces Rafi midway through 2010)

Chuck – "Stephen Hawking's Cleats"—Out-of-town player (drops out in 2015)

Ted – "The Balls Deeper"—Out-of-town player (dies in 2014)

Russell - "Seabiscuit Rip" -- (replaces Ted in 2014)

The Coin - (replaces Chuck in 2015)

BOLD means current league member.

Season-by-season results

– ‡ The Sacko Bowl was not introduced until the sixth season of league play or season two of the actual TV show. Whoever loses the Sacko Bowl wins the Sacko trophy, meaning they placed last.

– ** Andre won the Shiva Bowl in 2009 with the help of Ruxin, whose name is with Andre's on the trophy.

- † Taco "won" the Sacko the first season, but it was overruled after the points had been counted, meaning that Andre was the first to win the Sacko, which started the trend "First to Worst."

- * Because Ruxin discovered that the League colluded to keep him from getting the top draft pick and because he won the Sacko, Kevin was stripped of his championship and the 2011 season of The League was declared null and void, to be sent off by a Norse funeral. However, before the 2012 season, Kevin got his championship reinstated by trading his role as commissioner to Ruxin along with naming rights to his and Jenny's son. Ruxin did not receive Sacko punishment because his stroke, induced by discovery of the collusion, was seen as punishment enough. Ruxin later traded the naming rights to Taco in exchange for Taco's first-round draft pick. Jenny gave birth and Taco announces the name "Chalupa Batman MacArthur," which was quickly changed to "Christopher Benjamin." Later in season 5, it was referenced that Kevin earned back his commissioner role.

- § Ruxin failed to press the "Set Lineup" button before the first game of the week started, so Andre won by default.

- Note: Playoff format does not reseed.

The Shiva

The Shiva is the name of the trophy given annually to the winner of the fantasy football league. The award is named after Shivakamini Somakandarkram, their high school valedictorian to whom Kevin lost his virginity in Pete's mother's car while listening to Aerosmith.

The Sacko

The Sacko is the name of the trophy given to the loser of the Sacko Bowl as a booby prize. The 'winner' of the Sacko is also required to do Sacko Punishments.

Production

The League was given a pilot order on July 15, 2009, with the pilot written and directed by Jeff Schaffer, with Jackie Schaffer co-directing. The series is executive produced by Jeff Schaffer, Jackie Schaffer and the production company, FX Productions.

When the series was given a pilot order several roles were cast, with Mark Duplass playing Pete Eckhart, Stephen Rannazzisi playing Kevin MacArthur, Nick Kroll playing Rodney Ruxin, Paul Scheer playing Andre Nowzick, Jon Lajoie playing Taco MacArthur and Katie Aselton playing Jenny MacArthur.

The League was given a series order on August 20, 2009, with six episodes. A 13-episode second season of The League premiered on September 16, 2010, on FX. On January 15, 2011, it was announced that the series had been picked up for a third season, which premiered on October 6, 2011.

On December 13, 2011, the series was renewed for a fourth season of 13 episodes which premiered on October 11, 2012.

On December 20, 2012, the series was renewed for a fifth season of 13 episodes and premiered on September 4, 2013, on the new FXX network.

On March 28, 2013, it was announced that The League was renewed for a sixth season which premiered on September 3, 2014.

On December 8, 2014, it was announced that the seventh season of The League, which premiered on September 9, 2015, would be the final season of the series.

Home media

Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 were also released on Blu-ray Disc in Region 1. The show was added to Hulu in 2018.