Last Chance U
Last Chance U is an American documentary television series that is produced by and premiered on Netflix. The six-episode first season explores the football program at East Mississippi Community College, which features several collegiate athletes that have had trouble in their lives and struggled with finding structure. The players are then required to perform at the junior college level, under the stewardship of coach Buddy Stephens, in order to prove themselves and return to Division I.
The series' second season returned to Mississippi, but transitioned to Independence Community College in Kansas for the show's third season, which premiered on July 21, 2018. This was followed by a return to Independence for the fourth season; it debuted on July 19, 2019. The final season took place at Laney College in Oakland, California and premiered on July 28, 2020. In 2020, it was announced that a scripted drama based on the first two seasons would be produced by and star Courteney Cox.
Synopsis
The first two seasons focus on all aspects of the football program at East Mississippi Community College, one of the most successful JUCO programs in the country. Major themes include the academic struggles of the players – some of whom have come from severely disadvantaged backgrounds. This is set against an overall redemption and coming-of-age “last chance” theme for the group of men struggling to find their place. Team academic advisor Brittany Wagner is featured prominently as she is tasked with getting all team members to graduate on time. Head coach Buddy Stephens' struggles with controlling his temper is also a major theme, which is often juxtaposed with his devout Christian faith that he attempts to impart on the team.Season 1
The crew followed the EMCC Lions during their 2015 season as they attempted to capture their fourth JUCO national title. While the team appeared dominant for much of the year, their season was derailed after a brawl broke out during their game with Mississippi Delta. EMCC was disqualified from the state playoffs and a potential berth to the national championship game.Ranking: NJCAA released prior to game.
Season 2
Netflix returned to Scooba to follow their 2016 season. Once again holding national championship aspirations, the team faced a major hurdle in that only 32 of their players were eligible for their opening game with Jones County Junior College due to suspensions related to the previous season's brawl. EMCC lost that game, 27–25, their first season-opening loss since 2010. The Lions would go on to win the rest of their games, but were left out of the national championship game when they finished the season ranked No. 3 in the polls.Ranking: NJCAA released prior to game.
Season 3
Despite being invited back to EMCC for a third season, producers decided to move the show to Independence Community College of Kansas. The new location is different in that ICC has historically had much lower expectations than EMCC; in 2016, it ended the season 5–4, its first winning season in ten years. The ICC Pirates had a very successful recruiting campaign for the 2017 season, landing many acclaimed players who began at NCAA Division I schools.Ranking: NJCAA released prior to game.
Season 4
The fourth season continues in Independence, where the team fails to live up to high preseason expectations, finishing 2–8. After the season, Coach Brown is forced to resign for insensitive remarks. The season received the 2020 Emmy Award for Outstanding Serialized Sports Documentary.Ranking: NJCAA released prior to game.
Season 5
The fifth season takes place in Oakland, California at Laney College alongside football head coach John Beam. It premiered in July 2020.Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2016)
Season 2 (2017)
Season 3 (2018)
Season 4 (2019)
Season 5 (2020)
Reception
The series was given a positive review by SB Nations Jason Kirk, who summed it up as a "carefully crafted drama with personalities to care about." Critical aggregator website Metacritic awarded the series a score of 79, indicating "generally favorable reviews".Featured staff
EMCC
- Buddy Stephens
- Brittany Wagner
- Marcus Wood
- Davern Williams
- Ed Holly
- Clint Trickett
- Cade Wilkerson
- Jordan Lesley
ICC
- Jason Brown
- Jason Martin
- Kiyoshi Harris
- Frank Diaz
- Raechal Martin
- Tammy Geldenhuys
- Latonya Pinkard
- Mark Harris
- Heather Mydosh
- Daniel Barwick
- Jeff Carpenter
Laney
- John Beam
- Josh Ramos
- Jeff Haagenson
- Kevin Evans
- Bryan Coughlan
- Vince Bordelon
- Rob Crowley
- Adam Robinson
- Derrick Gardner
- Rick Becker
Players
| Player | Position | Transfer in | Transfer out | Notes |
| DeAndre Johnson | QB | Florida State | Florida Atlantic | After sitting out the 2017 season due to blood clots in his arm, Johnson competed with Oklahoma transfer Chris Robison for the starting quarterback position. After not starting for FAU, Johnson transferred to Texas Southern in 2019. |
| Isaiah Wright | RB | — | West Georgia | Wright participated in spring football at WGU but left the school before the season began. He was arrested for criminal homicide in September 2017. On November 8, 2017, the charges were dismissed against his brother Camion, also featured on Last Chance U. On August 8, 2018, Wright plead guilty to facilitation of aggravated robbery in exchange for having his criminal homicide charge dropped. He received credit for time served and was sentenced to five years of supervised probation. During 2019, Wright joined the Alcoa Alloys of the Independent American Football League. Wright was able to get another chance to play college football at Union College of the NAIA for the 2021 season. |
| Chauncey Rivers | DL | Georgia | Mississippi State | Rivers was redshirted for the 2017 season due to academic ineligibility. During the 2018 season, Rivers had 2.5 sacks and 24 tackles for the Bulldogs. After the 2019 season where he had 5.0 sacks and 40 tackles, Rivers was named to the 2019 All-SEC football team. In April 2020, the Baltimore Ravens signed Rivers as an undrafted free agent. |
| Dakota Allen | LB | Texas Tech | Texas Tech | Had a breakout junior season in 2017, with 92 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and six forced turnovers. Named All-Big 12 by Pro Football Focus and second-team All-Big 12 by coaches and media. Allen was officially invited for the NFL Scouting Combine in 2019. He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL draft and became the first player of the show to be picked in the NFL Draft. He signed a contract with the Rams on June 7, 2019. He was signed off the Rams' practice squad by the Oakland Raiders in September, and made his NFL debut the following month. However, he was waived by the end of the month, and returned to the Rams' practice squad again in November, leaving a second time to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars in December. |
| Kamonte "Kam" Carter | DL | Penn State | Pittsburgh | Played sparingly at Pitt and in January 2018, announced he was transferring. Ultimately transferred to Duquesne for the 2018 and 2019 season, where he made the All-NEC First Team both seasons. |
| Tim Bonner | DL | Louisville | Florida Atlantic | Joined the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. |
| Ezekiel Rose | DL | — | West Virginia | |
| Vijay Miller | QB | — | — | Also played baseball at EMCC as a pitcher and was drafted in the 14th round of the 2017 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres. After pitching for the Arizona League Padres for the summer, Miller returned to EMCC for the 2018 season. |
| Player | Position | Transfer in | Transfer out | Notes |
| Malik Henry | QB | Florida State | Nevada | Henry failed to receive an offer from a Power Five conferences school, and was listed on the 2018 ICC football roster. He announced in January 2019 that he would be walking-on at Nevada. He started two games and then left the school. He later joined the Frisco Fighters in the Indoor Football League. |
| Rakeem Boyd | RB | Texas A&M | Arkansas | Rushed for 2,176 yards and 13 touchdowns during his career at Arkansas. |
| Kerry Buckmaster | OL | Ventura College | Lindenwood | Later transferred to West Texas A&M. Quit football in March 2019. |
| Kingston Davis | RB | Michigan | UAB | Cut from the team following an arrest. Later transferred to Lane College. |
| Carlos Thompson | WR | Texas Tech | Missouri Western | Decided to forgo his senior season and declared for the 2019 NFL draft. He was not drafted. |
| Emmit Gooden | DL | — | Tennessee | Dismissed from the team following a domestic assault arrest |
| Calvin Jackson | WR | — | Washington State | |
| Keith Williams | OL | — | Colorado State | |
| Delrick Abrams | DB | — | Colorado |
| Player | Position | Transfer in | Transfer out | Notes |
| Jay Jones | QB | Georgia Tech | ||
| Chase Hildreth | QB | — | Texas State | |
| Markiese King | WR | — | Lamar | King signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Lamar, but he withdrew from Independence before graduation, making him ineligible to play Division I college football. Later enrolled at Central Oklahoma |
| Jermaine Johnson II | DL | — | Georgia | By far the biggest success from the show. Played two seasons before transferring to Florida State. As a fifth-year senior with the Seminoles, Johnson led the ACC in tackles for loss and sacks, was named 1st Team All-Conference, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, was a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award for college football's best defensive end, and was included in several All-America teams. He was drafted 26th overall in the 2022 NFL draft by the New York Jets and named as an alternate to the 2024 Pro Bowl Games roster. |
| Bobby Bruce | S | — | Manatee Neptunes | A student reported $250 stolen from his dorm room. Bruce was seen on video entering the room with two other people and leaving with a full bag in his hand that he hadn't had with him when entering the room. Bruce was cut from the football team. Subsequently, he signed to play arena football for the A-League's Manatee Neptunes. In February 2020, he was arrested for cocaine possession. |
| Kailon Davis | DL | — | Arkansas State | Medically retired from football in 2021, later joined the Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions. Davis went unselected in the 2022 NFL draft, and signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL before being released during the offseason. |
| Chance Main | DL | — | Incarnate Word | Played 2 years at Incarnate Word, and took the 2021 season off for rehab. Later signed with the Colorado Buffaloes for the 2022 season. |
| Player | Position | Transfer in | Transfer out | Notes |
| Dior Walker-Scott | WR | — | Hawai'i | Preferred walk-on in 2020. Earned a full scholarship in 2021. |
| RJ Stern | WR | — | Decommitted from Tusculum | |
| Day'Marr Johnson | WR | — | Merritt | |
| Nu’u Taugavau | OL | — | Murray State | One of his uncles played at Murray State |
| Ryan Mackey | QB | — | Returned to Laney College for the 2020–21 season | |
| Kentrell Pierce | DB | — | Lincoln | |
| Rejzohn Wright | DB | — | Oregon State | Currently plays for the New Orleans Saints |
| Keyshawn Ashford | RB | — | Foothill | |
| Alex Gonsalves | RB | — | — |