Netflix continues to churn out original content, with Home Team, a new sports comedy starring Kevin James as NFL head coach Sean Payton, as one of its first big original titles of 2022.
The sports comedy is a classic genre filled with movies like Bull Durham, The Longest Yard, Cool Runnings, Happy Gilmore, Goon and probably too many to keep listing here. Can Netflix add its own to the list with Home Team?
Here’s everything we know about Home Team.
‘Home Team’ release date
Home Team is now available to stream on Netflix. There is no plan for Home Team to play in theaters, so it will only be available to anyone with a Netflix subscription.
‘Home Team’ plot
Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction, because Home Team sees Super Bowl-winning head coach Sean Payton take on his next coaching challenge — sixth grade football — during a suspension from the NFL. The crazy thing is, this really happened!
In May 2012, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton was suspended for a full year by the NFL after for his involvement in covering up a cash payouts for his players that incentivized them to go after and try and injure other players; it’s been dubbed “Bountygate.” So while away from the NFL, Payton decided to be an “offensive assistant” on his son’s sixth grade team.
Home Team will clearly some comedic liberties with the story, but that does pretty much sum up the plot of the movie. Read the official synopsis:
“Two years after a Super Bowl win when NFL head coach Sean Payton is suspended, he goes back to his hometown and finds himself reconnecting with his 12-year-old son by coaching his Pop Warner football team.”
The script was written by Keith Blum and Chris Titone.
‘Home Team’ cast
Comedian Kevin James will star in Home Team as Sean Payton. James is best known for his time on the sitcom King of Queens as well as the movie franchise Paul Blart: Mall Cop. He also already has some sports movie experience, having starred in the MMA-inspired movie Here Comes the Boom.
Also starring in Home Team will be Taylor Lautner (Twilight) as the head coach of the sixth-grade team James’ Payton helps out with and Jackie Sandler (Hotel Transylvania, Hubie Halloween) as Payton’s wife. Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo) is also on board in an unspecified role.
The rest of the cast includes Jared Sandler, Allen Covert, Gary Valentine, Isaiah Mustafa, Tait Blum, Maxwell Simkins, Lavell Crawford, Chris Titone, Jacob Perez, Bryant Tardy and Merek Mastrox.
‘Home Team’ director
Home Team is going to be directed by brothers Charles Francis Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane. This is the biggest movie that the brothers have taken on in their career, though they do already have a relationship with Kevin James.
The duo directed the short video “The Sound Guy Gets Intimate with Kevin James,” which was done in conjunction with James’ Netflix show The Crew. The Kinnane’s are also listed as directors for at least one episode of an upcoming Kevin James/Netflix project.
‘Home Team’ trailer
All of the necessary ingredients for a sports comedy are in the Home Team trailer, a down-on-his-luck coach takes on a plucky group of players and helps them realize their full potential. The film also doesn’t seem to be shying away from the family dynamics either, as Payton’s relationship with his son certainly looks like it will have its ups and downs. Watch the trailer below.
