Last Chance U: Basketball
(2021 – Netflix)

To be fair: This has been featured quite a lot on Netflix and I lied: It’s not really a miniseries. But I took the liberty to still put it into this list as it had that „chip on our shoulder“ attitude to it. And non-sports-fans might overlook it, fair enough. But that’s exactly what it is about. Young African Americans who seek out to the sport of basketball to save them. Some dream big, others just want to have some structure. In the center of the L.A. community college is the most intense and committed coach you’ll ever find. He gives his all to help out the teenagers and young adults to get their life going. Most of them grew up in poverty with single parents struggling to make ends meet. I must say that this show can be repetitive at times as most of the time the kids…well…ball. But after I finished this I really felt gratitude for the education and care that has been given to me personally. And I don’t mean university studies or family vacations but plain basics in subjects across the board and just time that my parents spent with me on the playground. Without a stable economic, academic and social background, even those basics can be extremely hard to grasp for so many kids. And when you’re a Black kid in the hood on top of that, it just makes it even harder.

Trailer (ENG) – Last Chance U: Basketball