4 straight-A college movies on Netflix to watch for back-to-school fun

Published Sep 22, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT Derek Malcolm has been covering the worlds of tech and entertainment for more than two decades. Before coming to How-To Geek in 2025, Derek was a contributing editor and writer for the A/V and Home Theater section at Digital Trends, where he wrangled and wrote everything from what to watch on Netflix to reviews, explainers, and guides on the latest Bluetooth speakers, turntables, projectors, and other A/V gear. Based in Toronto, Derek graduated from Humber College's Journalism program in 1999, after which he started covering the worlds of music, movies, TV, and celebrity for publications such as TV Guide, Hello! magazine, and Inside Entertainment. He then got the bug for covering tech and gadgets in 2006, when he served as editor-in-chief of Canadian tech magazine Connected for more than a decade. An avid skier, when all the snow's gone Derek can be found at home spinning vinyl with his daughter or cheering on his favorite F1 team, McLaren. Sign in to your How-To Geek account Move-in day is already a few hangovers behind you, the mini fridge is working overtime, and someone down the hall is already playing music too loud (or not loud enough). Whether you're the student or the parent who drove home with an empty back seat, the right movie (or series) can capture that freshman mix of first-time freedom, panic, and bad decisions. Netflix in the U.S. isn't loaded with the college genre's greatest hits—Animal House and Old School are streaming elsewhere. What the streamer’s vast library does have is a mix of campus comedies (including my top picks, with Zac Efron), an infamous sports documentary, and a surprise newcomer as an honorable mention. It's a stronger lineup than you'd guess. The Heisman winner who burned it all down I’ve covered many of Netflix's excellent Untold sports documentaries that specialize in spectacular sports flameouts—including its current hot topic, Raygun: Breaking Badly, about the endlessly mocked Aussie Olympic breakdancer. This jaw-dropping 2023 entry from director Ryan Duffy hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts within a day of its release and is one of the best. In Untold: Johnny Football, College football star Johnny Manziel tells his own story—the Texas A&M quarterback who upset Alabama, earned the nickname Johnny Football, and became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012. From there, the 72-minute documentary is a steep, glorious slide to the bottom that outlines the secret autograph-signing side hustle he ran with his buddy, the money, the partying, a suspension, a first-round selection by the Cleveland Browns, and a pro career that was sacked in two seasons. It's college hype culture at full speed. Untold: Johnny Football Release Date August 8, 2023 Runtime 71 minutes Director Ryan Duffy Producers Carolyn Craddock 3 Roommates It’s freshman roommate warfare in this double-Sandler comedy If you’ve recently been crammed into a 100-square-foot dorm room with a stranger, Roommates is either going to make you both crack up laughing or drive that wedge between you even deeper. Adam Sandler's Happy Madison produced this 2026 Netflix original, starring Sandler’s daughter Sadie as Devon, a freshman at the fictional Walton University who is desperate for a bestie. Devon soon finds Celeste (Chloe East), the cool girl from orientation, and they request each other as roommates. What should have been a ride-or-die bond devolves into a roommate situation from hell—Celeste has no boundaries, stays up scrolling on her phone all night in bed, uses Devon’s bed for, er, extracurricular activities, and other line-crossing. Soon, they’re at war with each other, and things get really, really out of hand. Roommates is a fun, slightly raunchy, R-rated college flick that also stars Natasha Lyonne, Nick Kroll, and Sarah Sherman in supporting roles. Roommates Release Date April 17, 2026 Cast Sadie Sandler, Chloe East, Billy Bryk, Sarah Sherman, Natasha Lyonne, Nick Kroll, Aidan Langford, Martin Herlihy, Bella Murphy, Jaya Harper, Storm Reid, Ivy Wolk, Adam Sandler, Asha Ward, Francesca Scorsese, Bailee Madison Director Chandler Levack Writers Jimmy Fowlie, Ceara O’Sullivan Producers Tim Herlihy, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Adam Sandler Main Genre Comedy Executive Producer(s) Jackie Shenoo 2 Neighbors and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising My top picks make up the easiest college comedy double feature on Netflix right now. Nicholas Stoller's 2014 original, Neighbors, was a box office smash, grossing $270 million on an $18 million budget, while also revitalizing Zac Efron’s career. Not bad for an R-rated frat flick. It’s every grownup’s nightmare—new parents Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Rose Byrne) buy their first house together in a quiet college-town neighborhood. Then the Delta Psi Beta fraternity moves in next door, and their idyllic life is shattered by noise, nonsense, and constant keggers (including the totally memeable Robert De Niro party). Frat president Teddy Sanders (Efron) and his second, Pete (Dave Franco), are behind it all, and when Mac and Kelly lodge a noise complaint, the neighborly relationship goes sour and dissolves into all-out warfare. The 2016 sequel, Sorority Rising, instead pits the Radners and Teddy against a new sorority led by Chloë Grace Moretz. Cast Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jerrod Carmichael, Ike Barinholtz, Carla Gallo, Halston Sage, Craig Roberts, Lisa Kudrow, Elise Vargas, Zoey Vargas, Brian Huskey, Ali Cobrin, Kira Sternbach, Steven Michael Eich, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, Adam Devine, Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, Kyle Newacheck, Jake Johnson Runtime 97 minutes Director Nicholas Stoller Writers Andrew J. Cohen, Brendan O'Brien Producers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg Main Genre Comedy Budget $18 million Studio(s) Universal Pictures Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Executive Producer(s) Joseph Drake, Nathan Kahane 1 A Different World Hillman College hosts a new generation of Wayne OK, this one is a Netflix series, not a movie, but it gets honorable mention here because it’s new and nothing else on the streamer delivers the campus atmosphere like it. Dust off your flip-up sunglasses (or borrow your parents’) for this reboot of the classic Cosby Show spinoff sitcom that ran from 1987 to 1993. A Different World is a sequel series that premieres September 24 (exactly 39 years to the day after the original’s debut) and follows Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), a freshman at Hillman College, the fictional HBCU made famous on the original '80s-'90s sitcoms. Wayne is, of course, the daughter of the one and only Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and his wife Whitley Gilbert-Wayne (Jasmine Guy)—both returning from the original. The show follows the ambitious Deborah as she navigates college life and forges her own path. Its 10 episodes will drop all at once, and the show features the theme song re-recorded by Brandy. A Different World Release Date September 24, 2026 Network Netflix Directors Tiffany Johnson, Angela Barnes, Nefertite Nguvu, Bille Woodruff, Debbie Allen Cast Cree Summer, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Cornell Young IV, Maleah Joi Moon, Darryl M. Bell, Chibuikem Uche, Alijah Kai, Jordan Aaron Hall, Kennedi Reece Writers Des Moran, Felicia Pride, Howard Jordan Jr., Lisa McQuillan Main Genre Comedy Producers James E. Williams Seasons 1 Executive Producer(s) Felicia Pride, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Mandy Summers, Reggie Rock Bythewood, Tom Werner Class dismissed Netflix’s college movie shelf is a bit thinner than it used to be, but this lineup offers up some picks that hopefully add some dorm-appropriate atmosphere. If not, you can always go full John Belushi and make your own Animal House. Subscription with ads Yes, $8/month Simultaneous streams Two or four Live TV No Price Starting at $8/month Stream licensed and original programming with a monthly Netflix subscription.