Most sports stories are told in movies. Their compatibility with this medium is because the structure of a player or team training, training, failing, and overcoming different challenges is an excellent fit for its three-act structure. Things are changing, though, with many more sports stories being told through TV shows. Numerous sports series are now available for your enjoyment. In this article, we will look at the best sports TV shows you should start bingeing as soon as possible.

Kingdom (2014)

Kingdom follows a legendary veteran MMA fighter, Alvey, who runs a family-owned and operated MMA gym in California. The character’s main challenge is keeping the gym going, with bills mounting and the time to pay them running out, and building a team of successful MMA fighters.

His worries also include turning his sons Nate and the older Jay, Ryan (a former fighter who has just left prison), and Nick Jonas into earnest fighters.

The show’s strengths stem from its choreography, handled by MMA veteran Joe Stevenson, its ability to handle all the clichés typically found in similar stories, and treating running tropes with the respect they deserve.  Also, the story is well written and skilfully integrates each family member’s role and the drama they face. 

The League (2009)

The League departs from the typical drama set-up you get with many sports TV shows because it is a comedy that follows a group of friends who are completely into fantasy football. It follows their daily lives, challenges, and how they overcome them.

The show stands out because it looks at sports from the fan’s perspectives. It emphasises that even though most people watch sports for the athleticism, skills, and potential to win money through live in play betting, they also do so to have something to talk about and bond over with their friends.

Even though not explicitly stated, the show also subtly explores whether Ruxin, Andre, and Taco would have remained friends for so long if not for their participation in the same fantasy league.

Playmakers (2003)

Although an older TV show, Playmakers will get you hooked from the start to the end. It follows players of a fictional team called the Cougars as it navigates a fictional league that mirrors the NFL.

The show’s entertainment factor is mainly held up by the drama that includes players’ use of performance-enhancing drugs, domestic disturbances, player injuries, substance abuse, and how the different players overcome the challenges they encounter along the way.

The show was also one of the first to tackle the topic of players outing gay players long before players in the NFL started coming out on their own. 

Sadly, the show was cancelled after the show’s first season because the NFL allegedly told ESPN that it was not happy with how it was portrayed in the show. This is even though the show did not mention the NFL directly, but the resemblances were too glaring to ignore.

Ted Lasso (2020)

Ted Lasso is the sports TV show in this list that closely resembles a film the most. The series takes an American football coach, plucks him from this league, and places him in the English Premier League. From the onset, it is clear that he is out of his depth in this new arrangement.

Ted Lasso is tasked with turning the fortunes of an EFL team called AFC Richmond around. Even though this is already challenging enough, he still has to deal with Rebecca Welton, the team’s owner who wants him to fail. 

One of the things that draws people to Ted Lasso is that it is a story of unrelenting optimism and positive nature. Ted does not follow the typical EFL coach mould and this makes him resonate with other coaches, players and fans alike.

Sports TV shows and movies tell the stories of players, coaches, and fans from different perspectives, letting viewers understand and get involved in the lives of their fictional characters. Besides providing the entertainment we all crave, they also teach valuable lessons, take us on emotional roller coasters, and help us gain a better insight into the lives of people in the sports industry. If the stories are told well enough, such as in Ted Lasso and Kingdom, the shows grow to gain a cult following and entertain fans for years.