Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religious Music & Entertainment
‘The Senior’: Michael Chiklis Comes Back in Life & Football

‘The Senior’: Michael Chiklis Comes Back in Life & Football

Last updated on: September 17, 2025 at 8:10 pm by Kate O'Hare

0 Comments

‘The Senior’: Michael Chiklis Comes Back in Life & Football 2025-09-17T20:10:52-08:00 Kate O'Hare

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Premiering Friday, Sept. 19, the fact-inspired drama The Senior stars Michael Chiklis as Mike Flynt, a 59-year-old who wants a second chance to live out his missed senior year on his college football team.

Playing the Long Game With Michael Chiklis

I’ve known Chiklis since his hit series The Shield premiered back in 2002.

My first set visit after moving to L.A. that year was to a location shoot for the FX police drama, in the L.A. neighborhood of Silver Lake. We were underneath a freeway overpass, as a door was pulled off a house (the show went there more than once, as you can see in this 2005 story,which includes guest star Glenn Close).

So, when Chiklis said this to me earlier this week in a video interview about The Senior (full video embedded below), he’s telling the truth:

You’ve seen me through a lot of the ups and downs in my career and some of them have been really, really high highs, and I’ve gone through some low lows, and everything in between — and this is a good one.

What Is The Senior About?

Here’s what distributor Angel Studios had to say:

At 59, Mike Flynt might be too old to play college football—but not too old to settle unfinished business. Nearly forty years after leaving his team, he returns to his alma mater to face the moment that changed everything. Bruised, doubted, and nearly broken, he fights for one last game—not for glory, but for the teammates he lost, the family he fractured, and the ending he still believes is possible.

Chiklis, the Team Captain

Chiklis also gets to relive a bit of his own schoolboy-athlete story in The Senior:

I’m a team player. I believe I’ve always been that I was the captain of my football team when I was in high school.

There’s something about the comraderie of being on a team and working towards a common goal with a group of people. And that carries over into everything I do. My film and television career, theater — it’s a team sport.

So true. Back at The Shield, Chiklis used to buy pizza for cast and crew each week and invite them all to lunch to watch a cut of the next episode. As number-one on the call sheet for the show, he always emphasized the importance of leadership.

Mike Flynt, the Guy Who Came Back

The same idea of leadership is important for the real-life Mike Flynt, who joined Chiklis for the interview. After his playing days, he transitioned to coaching (the story in the film is somewhat simplified from Flynt’s real story).

I didn’t make that mistake that so many people make that quit training, quit doing anything really demanding physically. But I continue to put adversity into my life from a physical standpoint.

I had been in the fitness business, I was a strength and conditioning coach at three major universities. And my philosophy and my coaching was, I’d never asked one of my athletes to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself.

And so, after I got out of coaching, I continued that.

And, Now Without Further Ado …

… here’s the whole interview video:

Image: Angel Studios

Don’t miss a thing: Subscribe to all that I write at Authory.com/KateOHare.

Sports and Religion

Sul Ross State University

About Kate O'Hare

Based in Los Angeles, Kate O'Hare is a veteran entertainment journalist, Social Media Content Manager and Blog Editor for Family Theater Productions and a rookie screenwriter. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

September 11, 2025

Emmy Awards Host Nate Bargatze Is a Clean Comic & Christian

Next Post

October 9, 2025 'House of David' S2: Jon Gunn on the Bible Drama's Big Risks

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"I read somewhere that Jesus claims to be present in the hungry, thirsty, homeless, sick……just ..."

RPlavo .

‘Adore Him: He Is Here’: On ..."

"My husband was Key Assistant Locations Manager on this film and it was so gratifying ..."

Mary Ashley Bannister

‘Coyote vs. Acme’: Never, Ever Give ..."

"Kate, Alan owes you big time...I mean like a steak dinner or something! I have ..."

s ci

‘The Odyssey’: What a (Very) Long, ..."

"It's true: the language was prosaic American English. Yes, some of the characters were shallow ..."

Clayton Emmer

‘The Odyssey’: What a (Very) Long, ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books breaking news digital media Faith practice food interview jane the virgin media movies music NFL Pope Francis Showbiz 101 social media sports technology television Uncategorized video

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz