2 Best TV Shows Similar to The Dynasty: New England Patriots

If your binge high is over after watching The Dynasty: New England Patriots and now you are chasing that feeling, check out this list of shows.

Confession time. I’m a New York Giants fan. And a third-generation one at that. So when I heard that they’d be the team featured in Hard Knocks: Offseason, I did not find myself especially enthusiastic. Even casual fans of the now 23-year-old series can tell you that many, if not most, teams don’t exactly cover themselves in glory. And for an organization like the Giants, traditionally one of the most buttoned-up of the NFL franchises, it seemed an especially odd fit. However, I’m a lifelong Giants fan, so as they go, so do I. What’s immediately apparent in the two episodes screened for critics is the addendum of Offseason at the end of the series title is not merely cosmetic. While the show has traditionally focused its lens on the sidelines and field during preseason, Hard Knocks: Offseason posts itself in the hallways and at the desks of the front office. Yes, viewers glimpse the occasional player or prospect. Indeed, the coach, in this case Brian Daboll, remains an important part of the story. However, the “star” of the proceedings is General Manager Joe Schoen as he and his team attempt to build a squad that will erase the sting of going 6 and 11 in the 2023-24 season. As a central figure, Schoen is a fairly laid-back focal point. His stories do reveal an intense dedication to work and frugality. A tale of driving for hours after accepting the Giants job with nothing but two peanut butter sandwiches for sustenance is particularly informative. However, at least so far, all external signs of excess seem sublimated beneath a loose, laconic management style. There’s no mutiny visible or afoot, so he seems to command respect. He just doesn’t do it by bloviating about the building or thundering in the face of his staff. Continue Reading →

It should be no surprise that the people promoting Welcome to Wrexham Season 3 are canny. Nonetheless, it is still worth calling out. One can see it in both the sequence of the season’s first three episodes and the decision to provide all three to critics simultaneously. Without the third, it is possible to conclude that success may have thrown a spanner in the works for the series. With the third, it becomes clear that the show remains committed to what makes the first two seasons so watchable. More importantly, it confirms the series’ score of producers—including the team’s two famous owners, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, and their right-hand man, writer and comedian Humphrey Ker—haven’t lost the ability to tell the stories. The problem that immediately faces Welcome to Wrexham Season 3 is the team’s success. It is easy to catch up with what happened with the Red Dragons’ after achieving promotion at the end of last (both TV and football) season. However, if you are making a documentary series about how the team is doing, you have a responsibility to tell that story. This places the show in a place to chronicle the team’s celebratory trip to the United States and a lot of soccer games rapid fire. When forced to be “just” a sports documentary, focused on the wins and losses and the on-pitch activities, Welcome to Wrexham is solid. As it has “taught” the audience football (soccer around these parts), it has grown looser and more comfortable, letting the on-screen action speak for itself. The break-ins by Reynolds or McElhenney to explain a term or mug about some “strange” rule happen far less, giving the audience a less mediated experience.  Continue Reading →