*We'll do our best to keep this as spoiler-free as possible for those who have not yet got around to completing Season 2 of 'Last Chance U' on Netflix*
Last Chance U is a Netflix Original series that has developed a real cult-following for it's emotional and hard-hitting portrayal of the struggles of various young American football hopefulls with troubled pasts as they attempt to make one last push for elite-level college football.
It has also seen the worldwide interest in Junior College Football sky-rocket by highlighting just how difficult it can be for someone who has been snubbed by the big schools to get another shot, but really it's mainly down to the show being really damn good.
For the first two seasons, we were welcomed behind the scenes of East Mississipi Community College, a giant of JuCo football with a depth of resources, but when Season 3 launches in July of 2018, things are going to be very different.
After rumours surfaced that the show would be changing school for next season, that was confirmed last week as Fansided announced that Independence Community College in Kansas would be the new focus.
After the first two seasons of the Netflix documentary series were filmed at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Mississippi covering the Lions, the series is moving to a new school for the third season next summer. Netflix is headed to Kansas where they will cover Independence Community College.
That brings about a whole new host of changes.
A New School
As mentioned above, Independence Community College are the new team that we will be following over the course of the season through all their ups and downs. A new state, a new city (with a population of roughly 10,000), and a new conference to follow means that we won't be as aware of the rivalries as we were in season 2, but the show does a very good job at looking back on previous incidents, so nothing to worry about there.
New Expectations
At EMCC, anything less than a National Title was a failure of the season thanks largely to the resources and recruitment that the school put behind its football team.
The fact that the ICC Pirates went 5-4 in the 2016 season suggests that a state title would be a massive achievement for the school, although they did start 1-4 so there were clear signs of improvement.
The school have also, possibly with the allure of Netflix's arrival, managed to secure some big transfers from big schools ala EMCC for next season, which will no doubt draw a heavy focus on the show.
No More Buddy Stephens
Love him or hate him, or just plain sick of his antics like many fans of the show are, Buddy will no longer be one of the main characters in the show as he remains the head coach at EMCC.
This should come as no huge shock as throughout Season 2 it was clear that having the Netflix crew around was something that agitated Stephens, but speaking to For The Win it seems that Buddy wanted the show to return as he once again did not like what he saw once it had aired.
He won't be given the chance to prove that he has changed, and instead Jason Brown will be the shot caller on screen as he arrives from Garden City with big plans in mind as head coach of ICC.
Safe to say, we can't wait, but unfortunately that's exactly what we're going to have to do until July of next year.
