Get caught up on Last Chance U in a 90-second read before watching Season 3

July 20 on Netflix, scheduled to go live at midnight Pacific Time.

After two years at JUCO dynasty East Mississippi Community College, the show moves to Independence CC in Kansas. Power 5 imports include former Florida State QB Malik Henry, making it three straight years that the show’s starred an ex-FSU quarterback, and several players depicted in Season 3 will be on P5 rosters in 2018. (The show is about ICC’s dramatic 2017.)

He’ll holler as much as the tempestuous Buddy Stephens did, but with a little more heart. From our interview with Compton native Jason Brown:

Hate me now, love me later.

It’s true, though, man. I gotta teach these kids a lot more than just football. The real world’s gonna hit ‘em in the mouth in 18 months when they leave my place. And if they’re late, they’re gonna end up at McDonald’s and being late there and getting fired.

My job is to get ‘em to the next level. I’ve sent 190 guys to Division I in 17 years, and I’ve never had a kid get kicked out of a four-year. Not one. That’s what I’m most prideful about.

Hopefully I’m harder on them here than they will be at their four-year, and when they get there, they’ve already gone through football jail, so to speak.

That’s what I call this place. I call JUCO “football jail,” and you’ve gotta get out of it.

Director Greg Whiteley (yep, it’s still made by the same people) explained to SB Nation:

There was something that was interesting to us about that, because when you hear these stories, the obvious question when we landed in Scooba was, ‘Well, how did you guys get so good?’ And hearing the stories of the early days of Buddy Stephens and the crappy field and the crappy locker room and — prior to the building of their new stadium — just what it was like, what they had to do to get recruits.

And a lot of us would just sit around and talk: ‘Well gosh, wouldn’t it have been great to be here five, six, seven years ago when this was all happening?’ And we felt like with Independence, Kansas, we were getting that opportunity.

SB Nation got an early look, and here’s our review:

It’s an inside look at a JUCO on the rise from historical mediocrity. If you like football, this show is still for you. While going from the familiarity of EMCC is an adjustment, Whiteley and company makes the transition flawlessly. It feels like Independence had been the show’s next step all along.

All the elements that made seasons one and two great are still here: a JUCO program, star players that sometimes break your heart, a fiery head coach, and people trying to build their lives.

This time, it’s also about building a program.