20 best shows like Back in the Day (2016)

A raw family drama set against the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in Venice, California. Alvey Kulina owns Navy St. MMA with the help of his girlfriend Lisa Prince. He is willing to go through extraordinary means to make sure his fighters are taken care of, but all of this responsibility comes at a steep price. He has complicated relationships with both of his sons, Jay and Nate, who are both struggling with their own identities and places within Alvey’s life and gym.

Lights Out is an American television boxing drama series from the FX network in the United States. It stars Holt McCallany as Patrick "Lights" Leary, a New Jersey native, and former heavyweight champion boxer who is considering a comeback. The series premiered on January 11, 2011 at 10 pm ET/PT. On March 24, 2011, FX announced the cancellation of the show. The final episode aired on April 5.

Looking at the lives of former and current football players, the show follows former superstar Spencer Strasmore as he gets his life on track in retirement while mentoring other current and former players through the daily grind of the business of football.

Set in the fictional small town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, this teen-driven drama tells the story of two half brothers, who share a last name and nothing else. Brooding, blue-collar Lucas is a talented street-side basketball player, but his skills are appreciated only by his friends at the river court. Popular, affluent Nathan basks in the hero-worship of the town, as the star of his high school team. And both boys are the son of former college ball player, Dan Scott, whose long ago choice to abandon Lucas and his mother Karen, will haunt him long into his life with wife Deb, and their son Nathan. Until now, Dan has managed to keep his two sons far from each other. But the past and present collide sharply when Tree Hill's basketball coach recruits Lucas for his team, much to the chagrin of Nathan and Daddy Dan. And the siblings natural rivalry only intensifies when they set their sights on the same girl, Peyton Sawyer. The residue of the past lingers far into the future for the residents of Tree Hill, even as a new generation is rising. Tree Hill follows the lives and loves of these two brothers, their friends and their family as they navigate high school, marriage, and finally... adulthood.

In a Kentucky orphanage in the 1950s, a young girl discovers an astonishing talent for chess while struggling with addiction.

Kat Baker is an up-and-coming, high-level single skater who is about to turn in her skates after a disastrous fall. When Kat seizes an opportunity to continue her career as a pair skater with a talented bad-boy partner, she risks exposing a fiercely kept secret that could unravel her entire life.

In 1980s LA, a crew of misfits reinvent themselves as the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.

This Karate Kid sequel series picks up 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament and finds Johnny Lawrence on the hunt for redemption by reopening the infamous Cobra Kai karate dojo. This reignites his old rivalry with the successful Daniel LaRusso, who has been working to maintain the balance in his life without mentor Mr. Miyagi.

Finding truth at the intersection of fantasy and reality in the veiled world of professional wrestling.

An inside look of the lives of seven WWE Divas from their work within WWE to their personal lives.

Set in 1959 Miami, Florida shortly after the Cuban Revolution, Magic City tells the story of Ike Evans, the owner of Miami's most glamorous hotel, the Miramar Playa. Evans is forced to make an ill-fated deal with Miami mob boss Ben Diamond to ensure the success of his glitzy establishment.

A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor. They become entangled in a murder plot and will shake the entire university and change the course of their lives.

A drama set in the world of horse racing focusing on lives of owners, jockeys, trainers and gamblers who are all tied to the same horse track.

Cam Calloway is about to find out the price he'll pay for stardom, love and loyalty. A basketball star in his early 20s, Calloway's life changes after he signs a multimillion-dollar contract with a team in Atlanta. He arrives in Georgia bright-eyed and eager to begin his career, joined by cousin and confidant Reggie Vaughn, who tries to keep Cam focused and free from distractions caused by Cam's blunt-but-loyal sister M-Chuck and opportunistic mom Cassie. Feeling a responsibility to support needy family and friends, Cam wrestles with the rewards and pitfalls of sudden wealth and fame.

After getting ousted from his job in the NCAA for throwing a chair at a referee, a hothead men’s basketball coach Marvyn Korn must take a job at Westbrook School for Girls, a private all-girls high school, in an effort to redeem what's left of his career and reputation.

The offbeat cast and crew of a sports news show deal with professional, personal, and ethical challenges while functioning in a pressure-cooker work environment.

In present day Minnesota, the Mighty Ducks have evolved from scrappy underdogs to an ultra-competitive, powerhouse youth hockey team. After 12-year-old Evan is unceremoniously cut from the Ducks, he and his mom Alex set out to build their own ragtag team of misfits to challenge the cutthroat, win-at-all-costs culture of competitive youth sports.

Explore the world of AAU basketball in the nation’s capital, and the players, their families and coaches who walk the fine line between dreams and ambition, and opportunism and corruption.

A famed major league baseball announcer who suffers an embarrassing and very public meltdown live on the air after discovering his beloved wife's serial infidelity decides to reclaim his career and love life in a small town a decade later.

In a close-knit Georgia community, a family-owned wrestling promotion finds two brothers and rivals war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel. But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to (and just as hard to leave behind).

Friday Night Lights is an American drama television series based around a high school football team situated in Texas. The series takes place in the fictional town of Dillon: a small, close-knit community in rural Texas. Particular focus is given to team coach Eric Taylor and his family, Tammy and Julie. The show uses this small town backdrop to address many issues facing contemporary American culture, including family values, child development, life lessons, school funding, racism, drugs, abortion and lack of economic opportunities.

The Bronx Is Burning is a television drama that debuted on ESPN on July 9, 2007, after the 2007 MLB Home Run Derby. It is an eight-episode mini-series adapted from Jonathan Mahler's best-selling book, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx Is Burning. The book focuses on baseball's triumph over the turmoil and hysteria of 1977 New York City and how the New York Yankees came to embody the hopes and fears of an unforgettable summer with Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson's warfare under George Steinbrenner's leadership.The show stars Daniel Sunjata, Oliver Platt, and John Turturro, while executive producers Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola, writer and executive producer James Solomon, and director Jeremiah Chechik work on the show. The series is produced by ESPN Original Entertainment in conjunction with Tollin/Robbins Productions. Filming began on September 18, 2006, in Connecticut and New York.The 2007 debut of the series marks the 30th anniversary of the 1977 World Series win for the Yankees, the first under Steinbrenner.After airing on ESPN, episodes could be viewed on ABC on Demand.

The true story of Colombia's infamously violent and powerful drug cartels.

New Orleans judge Michael Desiato is forced to confront his own deepest convictions when his son is involved in a hit and run that embroils an organized crime family.

Set in 15th century Italy at the height of the Renaissance, The Borgias chronicles the corrupt rise of patriarch Rodrigo Borgia to the papacy, where he proceeds to commit every sin in the book to amass and retain power, influence and enormous wealth for himself and his family.

When a rising high school football player from South Central L.A. is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High, the wins, losses and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds - Compton and Beverly Hills - begin to collide. Inspired by the life of pro football player Spencer Paysinger.

Charming, fast talking Marty Kaan and his crack team of management consultants know how to play the corporate game better than anyone, by using every dirty trick in the book to woo powerful CEOs and close huge deals. In the board rooms, barrooms, and bedrooms of the power elite, corruption is business as usual and everyone's out for themselves first. Nothing is sacred in this scathing, irreverent satire of corporate America today.

The two-night scripted miniseries “Houdini” follows the epic tales of Harry Houdini as he emerges as America’s first bonafide world-renowned superstar.

Inside Edge is the story of the Mumbai Mavericks, a T20 cricket franchise playing in the PowerPlay League. Set in a landscape of conflicting interests, where selfishness is almost a virtue, where sex, money, and power are mere means to an end, Inside Edge is a story that pulls no punches, minces no words, and takes no prisoners. Come witness the game behind the game.

A critical and often humorous look at the upper class, tracking the protagonist’s harrowing odyssey from a deeply traumatic childhood through adult substance abuse and, ultimately, toward recovery.

Set in present day Washington, D.C., House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood, a ruthless and cunning politician, and his wife Claire who will stop at nothing to conquer everything. This wicked political drama penetrates the shadowy world of greed, sex and corruption in modern D.C. House of Cards is an adaptation of a previous BBC miniseries of the same name, which is based on the novel by Michael Dobbs.

When England won the World Cup in July 1966 Bobby Moore became a national hero. Swept up by the media frenzy and the nation’s adoration, he and wife Tina were the original ‘golden’ couple.

Everyone has secrets and Olivia Pope has dedicated her life to protecting and defending the public images of the elite by keeping those secrets under wraps. Pope and her team are at the top of their game when it comes to getting the job done for their clients, but it becomes apparent that these "gladiators in suits," who specialize in fixing the lives of other people, have trouble fixing those closest at hand -- their own.

In the early 1990s in New York, during the height of the crack cocaine epidemic, a visionary musician named Bobby Diggs aka The RZA begins to form a super group of a dozen young, black men, who will eventually rise to become one of the unlikeliest success stories in American music history.

Ahsha Hayes enters the wild world of professional basketball when she tries out for the elite L.A. Devil Girls dance team against the wishes of her mother Sloane, a former dancer herself.

Set in the world of competitive gymnastics, the series follows a group of teen Olympic hopefuls as they train for their day in the spotlight.

Pre-law student Marti Perkins' world is flipped upside down when she loses her scholarship, and realizes the only way she can stay in school is by reigniting her dormant teen gymnastic skills to win a place on Lancer University's legendary cheerleading team.

A contemporary and culturally resonant drama about a young programmer, Elliot, who suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He wields his skills as a weapon to protect the people that he cares about. Elliot will find himself in the intersection between a cybersecurity firm he works for and the underworld organizations that are recruiting him to bring down corporate America.

The Bad News Bears is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from March 24, 1979 until July 26, 1980, consisting of 26 episodes. It was based on the 1976 hit movie of the same name, that was followed by two sequels in 1977 and 1978.

Claire, a talented but emotionally troubled dancer, joins a company in New York City, and soon finds herself immersed in the tough and often cutthroat world of professional ballet. The dark and gritty series will unflinchingly explore the dysfunction and glamour of the ballet world.

Mary Jane Paul is a one-woman-show: a successful TV news anchor, and an entirely self-sufficient powerhouse who remains devoted to a family that doesn't share her motivation. Intense drama and unforgettable moments unfold as Mary Jane juggles her life, her relationships, her work, and commitments to her family.

A hit man from the Midwest moves to Los Angeles and gets caught up in the city's theatre arts scene.

While running from a drug deal gone bad, Mike Ross, a brilliant young college-dropout, slips into a job interview with one of New York City's best legal closers, Harvey Specter. Tired of cookie-cutter law school grads, Harvey takes a gamble by hiring Mike on the spot after he recognizes his raw talent and photographic memory. Mike and Harvey are a winning team. Even though Mike is a genius, he still has a lot to learn about law. And while Harvey may seem like an emotionless, cold-blooded shark, Mike's sympathy and concern for their cases and clients will help remind Harvey why he went into law in the first place. Mike's other allies in the office include the firm's best paralegal Rachel and Harvey's no-nonsense assistant Donna to help him serve justice. Proving to be an irrepressible duo and invaluable to the practice, Mike and Harvey must keep their secret from everyone including managing partner Jessica and Harvey's arch nemesis Louis, who seems intent on making Mike's life as difficult as possible.