As the team learns that their season's worth of work has been for naught, there is a heavy sense of foreboding. Last Chance U's first season in basketball carries with it the weight of a year suspended - players having their ambitions and dreams curtailed by an opposition they didn't even get to face. The stakes feel slightly lower compared to the show's footballing equivalent, but the sense of community is far more resonant.
Most central to these shows is not the players, but the coach at the heart. Coach Mosley is the motor, a god-fearing man converted from a potentially deadly way of life to a path of helping others better themselves. Alongside his equally devoted assistants, they power this high-quality team through game after game, showing the benefit that role models can impart on teenagers from difficult backgrounds.
The quality of athlete here is higher than in any of the Last Chance U seasons before, creating some real sporting spectacles. No doubt a couple are looking at going pro in a few years, and this drive makes watching their dreams curtailed by COVID-19 even tougher to accept. They are not all from broken homes and tough lives (as is so often the narrative with this Netflix show) - rather, they are taking their final punts at continuing the sport they love.
This shift of narrative is a double-edged sword: the all too real drama of people balancing sport and survival was a great watch, but it wasn't in the best interests of the people involved. This season is a more uplifting angle, looking more at building better people than better athletes.
Most central to these shows is not the players, but the coach at the heart. Coach Mosley is the motor, a god-fearing man converted from a potentially deadly way of life to a path of helping others better themselves. Alongside his equally devoted assistants, they power this high-quality team through game after game, showing the benefit that role models can impart on teenagers from difficult backgrounds.
The quality of athlete here is higher than in any of the Last Chance U seasons before, creating some real sporting spectacles. No doubt a couple are looking at going pro in a few years, and this drive makes watching their dreams curtailed by COVID-19 even tougher to accept. They are not all from broken homes and tough lives (as is so often the narrative with this Netflix show) - rather, they are taking their final punts at continuing the sport they love.
This shift of narrative is a double-edged sword: the all too real drama of people balancing sport and survival was a great watch, but it wasn't in the best interests of the people involved. This season is a more uplifting angle, looking more at building better people than better athletes.