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Season 1 – Against the Grain

Play trailer Season 1 – Against the Grain Oct 1993 Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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77% Tomatometer 13 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
A former football star puts his family in the spotlight when he takes a job coaching an unsuccessful high school football team in a small, football-crazy town in Texas.
Against the Grain — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

While it leans heavily on sentimentality, Against The Grain offers poignant drama and a refreshing sense of humanity.

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Critics Reviews

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Rick Kogan Chicago Tribune 07/24/2019
This is a gentle and enjoyable family drama, acted by a no-name cast that is attractively unaffected. Go to Full Review John Voorhees Seattle Times 07/24/2019
It's a good cast but the constant emphasis upon football, which the show attempts to decry, eventually does to the show what it's doing to the town of Sumpter. Go to Full Review Patricia Brennan Washington Post 07/24/2019
... pilot is laced with the warm humor and fond family feelings that marks much of small-town, middle-class America. Go to Full Review Hal Boedeker Miami Herald 02/16/2022
3/4
Finally, a show that gives three-child families a good name. This fine, low-key drama presents family life with a realism missing from most sitcoms. Go to Full Review Bruce R. Miller Sioux City Journal 03/02/2021
Created by Iowan Dave Alan Johnson, it captures the atmosphere better than any drama since Hoosiers. Go to Full Review Alan Pergament Buffalo News 07/24/2019
A surprisingly strong series about an idealistic high school football coach in Texas. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
Against the Grain — Season 1

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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John Terry

Ed Clemons

Donna Bullock

Maggie Clemons

Ben Affleck

Joe Willie Clemons

Vanessa Lee Evigan

Jenny Clemons

Stephen Tobolowsky

Niles Hardeman

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Oct 1, 1993 Pilot A family man (John Terry) coaches high-school football in a Texas town that vaunts the sport. Details Episode 2 Aired Oct 8, 1993 The Buck Stops ... There Jill (Robyn Lively) announces she is quitting school; Ed (John Terry) tries to boost a star player's self-esteem. Details Episode 3 Aired Oct 15, 1993 Respect A potential client wines and dines Maggie (Donna Bullock), but Ed (John Terry) suspects his motives. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 29, 1993 The Reunion Ed (John Terry) meets his high-school sweetheart at his class reunion and regresses. Details Episode 5 Aired Nov 5, 1993 Don't Be a Stranger Joe Willie (Ben Affleck) visits Jill (Robyn Lively) at college; guest Tony Dorsett. Details Episode 6 Aired Nov 12, 1993 Two-Minute Drill The Mustangs lose their star player on the eve of a game with the state's best team, jeopardizing Ed's career. Details Episode 7 Aired Dec 17, 1993 E Pluribus Unum Ed's night-school professor (John Rubinstein) dislikes athletes; Joe Willie's (Ben Affleck) soccer teammates resent an exchange student. Details Episode 8 Aired Dec 24, 1993 A House Is Not a Home Maggie (Donna Bullock) aids an elderly couple whose insurance claim was denied after losing their home in a fire. Details

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Season Info

Network
NBC
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date
Oct 1, 1993