Check back throughout the next few weeks as we will put out reviews showcasing highlights and the best parts of each episode.
Deceptive Speed was all over last week’s news of Courteney Cox starring in somewhat of a scripted version of Last Chance U, but it’s time to bring it in for the real thing. Season 4 was released to the public in bulk early Friday morning. Eight episodes following around Independence Community College telling the stories of the players trying to get back into big-time college football.
For all of you who binged the whole series already, I’m proud of you. That’s dedication. I have not found the time to dig in to episode 1, but I will be doing just that the second this article is published. There are not many TV shows I find time to watch these days, but Last Chance U gets me going every summer as we get closer and closer to football season.
I fully expect the fourth season to be the best one yet with storylines and controversy everywhere. The show is obviously taped a year in advance, so we’ll be seeing the 2018 Independence football season. I always do my best to avoid seeing what happened with the team, which is usually easy because I mean - it’s junior college football. However, there was so much controversy that it made it impossible not to hear what happened going into the year.
Despite all that, here is a quick preview before I dive in to the fourth season of Last Chance U.
Give me more Coach Brown
Independence head coach Jason Brown is an absolute rockstar. Say what you will about him, but the guy owns the show and is easily the most interesting personality in the history of the series. He’s more entertaining than Buddy Stephens. More entertaining than Ronald Ollie. More entertaining than Brittany Wagner.
In every scene that features Coach Brown, I have no idea what will happen next. Will he talk about how awesome his cars and beach house are? Will he punch an opposing coach in the throat? You just never know. Incredible television.
Demise of Coach Brown
Sorry if this is a spoiler, but Coach Brown will lose his job. If you claim to be a Last Chance U fan and did not know about this, that’s on you. He resigned from the position in February for reasons we will get into later as we move along to the series.
In addition, three weeks before the documentary was set to be released, Brown was charged with a number of felonies. I will be interested to see what will make the documentary considering these incidents happened months after the football season ended.
After season 2, Netflix released a special episode on running back Isaiah Wright, who was in the middle of a homicide trial. It’s possible we see something like that in months to come. We’ll see.
The next star
Stars outside of the football team emerge from this show. The biggest example of this is Brittany Wagner, a former academic advisor who used the success of the show to move on and continue to dominate in her profession.
It seemed like the creators of Last Chance U tried to make professor LaTonya Pinkard into that role, but nobody can match Wagner’s appeal.
The trailer for this season shows a few clips involving a team trainer that I do not remember in Season 3. It’s possible I’m an idiot and she was definitely a part of it, but I don’t remember her. I would imagine she will make an impact in the fourth season.
Bobby Bruce is back?
There was a big reveal at the end of Season 3 regarding linebacker Bobby Bruce. “Bobby Bruce was arrested during summer break for robbery. He is not expected back at Independence.”
Well, Bobby Bruce is in the show’s official trailer, so you’d think he’s a major part of the team in Season 4. I would assume that story gets covered at some point.
What’s next?
We still do not know the future of Last Chance U. As of last week, a Netflix representative told Deceptive Speed no decision has been made regarding a fifth season. If we are blessed with another season, I would imagine the creators of this documentary will move to a different school.
Without Jason Brown, Independence football becomes much less entertaining, so enjoy him while you get the chance.
Tell the Leader of Deceptive Speed what you think of this article or what you think of him as a person. Insults are always welcome. Send your angry words to him on Twitter @ImErikBuchinger or email erik@deceptivespeed.com