The 12 best football movies and TV shows on Netflix right now

In case you're craving even more football content between NFL games and college matches...

Football is the most popular sport in America, so of course there are countless movies, TV shows, and documentaries about this high-profile national pastime. Whether you're in the mood for a lighthearted romp about a down-and-out team banding together or want to go behind the scenes with your favorite real-life NFL players, there are plenty of football movies and TV shows on Netflix ready to join your watchlist.

The streamer has dramatized TV shows like Friday Night Lights, but also a wealth of acclaimed documentaries like Last Chance U. With clear eyes and full hearts, let’s review the 12 best football movies and TV shows streaming on Netflix right now.

Last Chance U (2016–2020)

The "stunningly well-made" Last Chance U is one of the most underrated docuseries on Netflix. But rather than exploring a viral true crime, this gem follows troubled junior college football players looking at their shot to play Division I and secure a brighter future.

“Last Chance U is nonfiction, but like a lot of the most addictive sports documentaries, it feels ‘cinematic’ in the old-fashioned sense, luscious music, you-are-everywhere camerawork,” writes EW’s critic in their A-rated review. “It’s ludicrously involving. But don’t call it escapism. Last Chance U is brutally honest about its young players’ prospects.”

Where to watch Last Chance U: Netflix

EW grade: A (read the review)

Related content: Courteney Cox to star in series based on Netflix's Last Chance U breakout

Friday Night Lights (2006–2011)

Executive producer Peter Berg couldn't get enough of the small Texas town united by love for their high school football team, adapting this NBC drama from his 2004 movie of the same name. When star quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter) is paralyzed in the first game of the season, Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) must rally his team and second-string quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) to meet the expectations of the close-knit community and deliver a state championship.

Chandler hands in a TV Dad Hall of Fame performance as the stalwart coach and is supported by an incredible before-they-were-famous cast, including Porter, Gilford, Taylor Kitsch, and Academy Award nominee Jesse Plemons.

Where to watch Friday Night Lights: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Cast: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Taylor Kitsch, Zach Gilford, Jesse Plemmons

Related content: Friday Night Lights cast: Where are they now?

Ballers (2015–2019)

If you like your football with a side of business, then look no further than the HBO comedy Ballers, which is now streaming on Netflix. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as Spencer Strasmore, a retired NFL player trying to kickstart his financial management business by signing other pros.

The show is more concerned with contracts and big deals than touchdowns and field goals, but Johnson is a certified star. "Anchored by the endlessly erupting volcano of charisma that is Johnson, Ballers provides all the thrill and allure of the NFL without fear of domestic violence or devastating head injuries," writes EW’s critic.

Where to watch Ballers: Netflix

EW grade: A- (read the review)

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Rob Corddry, Omar Benson Miller, John David Washington, Jazmyn Simon, Dulé Hill

Related content: The 12 biggest ballers who appeared on Ballers

Audible (2021)

This Oscar-nominated documentary short is only 39 minutes long, but it packs a hell of a punch. The football team at Maryland School for the Deaf is riding high in many ways. They’re on a hot streak with more wins on the horizon, but throughout it all, senior player Amaree Mckenstry-Hall must also cope with a dear friend’s recent suicide.

Lauded for representing deaf students playing a contact sport, Audible also highlights the full spectrum of their lived-in experiences rather than just focusing on the facts of their disability. It's an empowering film that deftly balances grief and hope.

Where to watch Audible: Netflix

Director: Matthew Ogens

All American (2018–present)

This CW football drama, inspired by real-life New York Giants linebacker Spencer Paysinger, stars Daniel Ezra as Spencer James, a talented wide receiver at South Crenshaw High who is hand-picked to play for Billy Baker (Taye Diggs) on the Beverly Hills football team. Spencer's culture shock initially drives All American, but the series soon expands to a 360 view of life on and off the field, including college recruitment, the NFL draft, and what it's like to be a Black youth in America.

As EW’s critic writes, “All American is an interesting mix of the California-as-utopia teen drama — golden sunlight glinting off the Pacific, so many shirtless boys! — and a more nuanced exploration of the intersection between race and class.”

Where to watch All American: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Cast: Daniel Ezra, Taye Diggs, Samantha Logan, Michael Evans Behling, Greta Onieogou, Bre-Z

Related content: Daniel Ezra opens up about stepping away from All American: 'We accomplished the mission'

Colin in Black & White (2021)

After falling out with the NFL in 2017, civil rights activist and quarterback Colin Kaepernick teamed up with Ava DuVernay to tell his story on Netflix. The limited drama series traces the events that led Kaepernick to play professional football and later stand up for racial justice and equality.

As executive producer, Kaepernick also narrates each episode while Jaden Michael plays his younger self and Nick Offerman and Mary Louise Parker portray his adoptive parents. The result is an "ultimately edifying portrayal of the young athlete's coming of age as a biracial boy growing up in a predominantly white world," according to EW's critic.

Where to watch Colin in Black & White: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Cast: Colin Kaepernick, Jaden Michael, Nick Offerman, Mary Louise Parker

Related content: Colin in Black & White star Jaden Michael hopes to win over Colin Kaepernick's critics

Four Falls of Buffalo (2015)

If you’re a Buffalo Bills fan, just scroll past this one. Part of ESPN's 30 for 30 film series, this documentary looks back on the hopeful, record-breaking era of the early ‘90s when the Bills became the first NFL team to compete in four Super Bowls back-to-back. That's quite a feat, but the stinger is that they also lost every championship.

Four Falls of Buffalo interviews former players and coaching staff as they chronicle key moments in each showdown, including Scott Norwood's failed 47-yard field goal attempt in Super Bowl XXV. The film is well-executed and eye-opening for football lovers, but the in-depth interviews don't make the losses hurt any less for Buffalo fans.

Where to watch Four Falls of Buffalo: Netflix

Director: Ken Rodgers

Coach Snoop (2018)

Snoop Dogg recently demonstrated his sports prowess with his epic Olympics commentary, but Coach Snoop proves the West Coast rapper’s prior investment in athletics. This docuseries takes viewers inside the Snoop Youth Football League that he founded in California to help keep kids off the streets and focused on their goals. It centers on a specific team, Snoop's Stealers, while also exploring the ins and outs of the wider league.

Coach Snoop not only introduces you to kids who will win over your heart but also showcases a more serious, sincere side of the artist than we’re used to seeing.

Where to watch Coach Snoop: Netflix

Related content: Snoop Dogg promises to 'get underwater' to cover the Paris Olympics

We Are the Brooklyn Saints (2021)

Netflix knows how to pull the heartstrings with a well-produced sports docuseries. We Are the Brooklyn Saints heads to the East Coast to follow a New York youth football team and their dedicated coaches. It is only four episodes, but it'll remind you why football is America's favorite sport with these kids’ high hopes and the even higher stakes.

Similar to Coach Snoop and Last Chance U, many of the young players in Brooklyn Saints haven't had it easy, but they've found a sense of belonging and purpose on their football team. All of those emotions are expertly captured here through authentic moments on each step towards their potential victory at the National Championships in Florida.

Where to watch We Are the Brooklyn Saints: Netflix

Quarterback (2023)

Quarterback is the first official partnership between Netflix and the NFL. Produced by former Colts QB Peyton Manning, this docuseries follows current Chiefs team captain Patrick Mahomes, then-Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, and former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota.

All three pros were mic'd during every game of the 2022 season, which gives the viewers unprecedented access to how these star athletes function on the field and on the sidelines. The series also peers into the players’ personal lives, showing intimate moments at home with loved ones and interviews about balancing football with family.

Where to watch Quarterback: Netflix

Related content: Watch Chiefs superfan Paul Rudd and son celebrate Super Bowl win with MVP Patrick Mahomes

Receiver (2024)

From the team behind Quarterback, Receiver follows four wide receivers — Davante Adams for the Raiders; Justin Jefferson for the Vikings; Deebo Samuel for the 49ers; and Amon-Ra St. Brown for the Lions — and 49ers tight end George Kittle. It gives you the same unprecedented access to these players as the flagship series, except now you're on the field with the players most likely to run the ball into the end zone. If you loved the behind-the-scenes intel and raw material of Quarterback, then Receiver will scratch that same itch.

Where to watch Receiver: Netflix

Untold: Johnny Football (2023)

Johnny Manziel became the first college freshman to ever win the Heisman trophy in 2012. The Texas A&M quarterback held on to that shine all the way to the 2014 NFL draft, where he was expected to be a top 10 pick, but when team after team passed him up, the attention turned sour when he landed at No. 22.

The "Johnny Football" episode of Netflix's sports docuseries Untold tells the story of Manziel's headline-making fall from grace and the many scandals that came before and after his disappointing draft, from $5 million benders to a litany of legal issues. It's a trainwreck you can't take your eyes off, featuring first-hand interviews with “Johnny Football” himself.

Where to watch Untold: Johnny Football: Netflix

Director: Ryan Duffy

Related content: Johnny Manziel plummets at NFL Draft, finally drafted by Cleveland

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.