Kevin James and Taylor Lautner are starring in Netflix’s Home Team, which is based on the true story of New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton. Payton is portrayed by James, who is best known for his role on the sitcom King of Queens.
People reports that the film is based on Payton’s 2012 suspension from coaching the New Orleans Saints due to his involvement in the bounty scandals in which players were paid bounties to cause injuries to members of opposing teams. In the film, Payton returns to his hometown to connect his 12-year-old son who plays Pop Warner football. Lautner plays Coach Troy who recruits Payton to coach the team alongside him. Other stars include Jackie Sandler, Rob Schneider, Gary Valentine, Tait Blum, Maxwell Simkins, Jacob Perez, Bryant Tardy, Manny Magnus, Liam Kyle, Christopher Farrar, Merek Mastrov, Isaiah Mustafa, Christopher Titone, Ashley D. Kelley, Lavell Crawford, Allen Covert, Anthony L. Fernandez and Jared Sandler.
Home Team is Taylor Lautner’s first movie role in five years. While he rose to fame in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, his biggest role to date has been as werewolf Jacob Black in the Twilight series.
Meanwhile, Home Team isn’t Kevin James’ first sports movie. In 2012’s Here Comes the Boom, he played a biology teacher who becomes an MMA fighter. James is also an avid Mets, Jets, and Knicks fan.
The film is produced by Happy Madison (Adam Sandler’s production company) and Hey Eddie Productions. Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane directed the film with Christopher Titone and Keith Blum writing the script. The film will be released on Netflix on January 28, 2022.
