Playmakers

Starring: Omar Gooding , Marcello Thedford , Christopher Wiehl , Jason Matthew Smith , Russell Hornsby , Anthony John Denison , Stephen Bogaert , Phillip Jarrett

RS: 3of 4 Stars Average User Rating: Not Rated

It's Any Given Sunday the TV series, with flashy rookies challenging fading veterans, a Pacino-ish head coach and headache-inducing jump-cut editing. The NYPD Blue-style nudity -- butts only -- and limited palette of curse words cut down the verisimilitude, but the series is otherwise unflinching in depicting pro football's brutality and heartlessness. The very things that got the NFL upset with the series -- the league helped scuttle a second season -- are what make Playmakers worth checking out.