Best movies & TV Shows like The Paper Chase

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like The Paper Chase Starring John Houseman, James Stephens, Lainie Kazan, Penny Johnson Jerald, and more. If you liked The Paper Chase then you may also like: Up the Down Staircase, A Walk in the Spring Rain, The Wave, The Nutty Professor, On the Basis of Sex and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

TV show

Critically lauded drama about the life and pressures of a group of students at a prestigious Eastern law school, with a strict and domineering contract-law professor named Charles Kingsfield, who alternately inspires and terrifies the students.

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Up the Down Staircase

Sylvia, a novice schoolteacher, is hired to teach English in a high school, but she’s met with an apathetic faculty, a delinquent student body and an administration that drowns its staff in paperwork. The following days go from bad to worse as Sylvia struggles to reach her most troubled students.

A Walk in the Spring Rain

A sophisticated, middle-aged grandmother, wed to a New York law professor, falls in love with a down-to-earth Tennessee farmer.

The Wave

A teacher conducts an experiment in an American high school where students learn how easy it is to be seduced by the same social forces which led to the horrors of Nazi Germany. Based on a true story.

The Nutty Professor

A timid, nearsighted chemistry teacher discovers a magical potion that can transform him into a suave and handsome Romeo. The Jekyll and Hyde game works well enough until the concoction starts to wear off at the most embarrassing times.

On the Basis of Sex

Young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg teams with her husband Marty to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of sex discrimination.

Reversal of Fortune

Wealthy Sunny von Bülow lies brain-dead, husband Claus guilty of attempted murder; but he says he's innocent and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.

Back to School

Self-made millionaire Thornton Melon decides to get a better education and enrolls at his son Jason's college. While Jason tries to fit in with his fellow students, Thornton struggles to gain his son's respect, giving way to hilarious antics.

Child's Play

At an exclusive boys' school, a new gym teacher is drawn into a feud between two older instructors, and he discovers that everything at the school is not quite as staid, tranquil and harmless as it seems.

The Chocolate War

A surreal portrait of a Catholic Private School and its hierarchy. A new student must submit to the bizarre rituals of his peers and the expectations of the school's administration by selling chocolates.

Conrack

A young, white school teacher is assigned to Yamacraw Island, an isolated fishing community off the coast of South Carolina, populated mostly by poor black families. He finds that the basically illiterate, neglected children there know so little of the world outside their island.

Educating Rita

Rita, a witty 26-year-old hairdresser, wants to 'discover' herself, so she joins the Open University where she meets the disillusioned professor of literature, Dr. Frank Bryant. His marriage has failed, his new girlfriend is having an affair with his best friend and he can't get through the day without downing a bottle or two of whisky. What Frank needs is a challenge... and along comes Rita.

Legally Blonde

Elle Woods, a fashionable sorority queen, is dumped by her boyfriend. She decides to follow him to law school, but while there, she figures out that there is more to herself than just looks.

The Emperor's Club

William Hundert is a passionate and principled Classics professor who finds his tightly-controlled world shaken and inexorably altered when a new student, Sedgewick Bell, walks into his classroom. What begins as a fierce battle of wills gives way to a close student-teacher relationship, but results in a life lesson for Hundert that will still haunt him a quarter of a century later.

Detachment

A chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of substitute teacher, Henry Barthes. Henry roams from school to school, imparting modes of knowledge, but never staying long enough to form any semblance of sentient attachment.

Love Story

Harvard Law student Oliver Barrett IV and music student Jennifer Cavilleri share a chemistry they cannot deny - and a love they cannot ignore. Despite their opposite backgrounds, the young couple put their hearts on the line for each other. When they marry, Oliver's wealthy father threatens to disown him. Jenny tries to reconcile the Barrett men, but to no avail.

Mr. Holland's Opus

In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland takes a day job as a high school music teacher, convinced it's just a small obstacle on the road to his true calling: writing a historic opus. As the decades roll by with the composition unwritten but generations of students inspired through his teaching, Holland must redefine his life's purpose.

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

The unconventional life of Dr. William Marston, the Harvard psychologist and inventor who helped invent the modern lie detector test and created Wonder Woman in 1941.

School Ties

When David Greene receives a football scholarship to a prestigious prep school in the 1950s, he feels pressure to hide the fact that he is Jewish from his classmates and teachers, fearing that they may be anti-Semitic. He quickly becomes the big man on campus thanks to his football skills, but when his Jewish background is discovered, his worst fears are realized and his friends turn on him with violent threats and public ridicule.

Stand and Deliver

Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods to try and turn gang members and no-hopers into some of the country's top algebra and calculus students.

Loser

On a university scholarship, a good natured student from the midwest gets a crash course in city life while dealing with three evil roommates. He befriends a virtually homeless college student whom he falls for, but she's dating a nasty professor.

The Great Debaters

The true story of a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African-American college students into a historical powerhouse that took on the Harvard elite.

The Paper Chase

A first-year law student struggles with balancing his coursework and his relationship with the daughter of a stern professor.

Step Sisters

Jamilah has her whole life figured out. She's the president of her black sorority, captain of their champion step dance crew, is student liaison to the college dean, and her next move is on to Harvard Law School. She's got it all, right? But when the hard-partying white girls from Sigma Beta Beta embarrass the school, Jamilah is ordered to come to the rescue. Her mission is to not only teach the rhythmically-challenged girls how to step dance, but to win the Steptacular, the most competitive of dance competitions. With the SBBs reputations and charter on the line, and Jamilah's dream of attending Harvard in jeopardy, these outcast screw-ups and their unlikely teacher stumble through one hilarious misstep after another. Cultures clash, romance blossoms, and sisterhood prevails as everyone steps out of their comfort zones.

Brown of Harvard

Tom Brown shows up at Harvard, confident and a bit arrogant. He becomes a rival of Bob McAndrew, not only in football and rowing crew, but also for the affections of Mary Abbott, a professor's daughter.

Harvard Man

College has always been a time for experimentation, sexual, cultural and otherwise. "Harvard Man" plays out against a background of love, sex, basketball, crime and experimentation. Action and philosophy in young people's quest to discover their true identity.

Harvard Here I Come

Slapsie Rosenbloom receives an award from the satirical Harvard Lampoon for his well-known stupidity. Instead of being enraged, Slapsie Maxie is delighted by the "honor", and promptly tries to enroll at the ivy-league university. Upon arriving on campus, he is pounced upon by a group of eccentric scientists led by Professor Alvin, who is convinced that Rosenbloom is the "missing link" that science has long been searching for.

Larry Crowne

When he suddenly finds himself without his long-standing blue-collar job, Larry Crowne enrolls at his local college to start over. There, he becomes part of an eclectic community of students and develops a crush on his teacher.

Listen to Me

It was the best time of their lives. A kid from Oklahoma. An immigrant's daughter. A senator's son, a society girl, and a college professor with a dream. They had one thing in common...the will to win. A group of college debaters learn about the world, friendships, love, dreams and family.

Scandal in a Small Town

Leda Beth Vincent lives in the small town of Shiloh and works as a cocktail waitress there. She is not too well thought of as she is nothing of a blushing virgin. But she is far from a whore and brings up her daughter Julie, a high school student, as a loving responsible mother. So, when she becomes aware that Julie's very popular history teacher, Mr Baker, spreads antisemitic ideas among his pupils, Leda Beth decides to ask Mr Baker for an explanation. But she comes up against a wall. Nobody in town - Julie less than all others - wants to support her and it looks as if she will have to bring the Board of Education to court. The trouble is that a school dropout and a tramp of her kind does not count for much compared to the holders of knowledge and of morality.

Soul Man

A caucasian prospective grad student's affluent family won't pay his way through law school, so he takes tanning pills to darken his skin in order to qualify for an African-American scholarship at Harvard. He soon gets more than he bargained for, as he begins to learn what life is really like for blacks in America.

Oleanna

Carol, a college student, comes to John's office, her professor, to discuss the grade she has received for one of her papers.

A Matter of Faith

A Christian girl, Rachel Whitaker (Jordan Trovillion) goes off to college for her freshman year and begins to be influenced by her popular Biology professor (Harry Anderson) who teaches that evolution is the answer to the origins of life. When Rachel’s father, Stephen Whitaker (Jay Pickett) senses something changing with his daughter, he begins to examine the situation and what he discovers catches him completely off guard. Now very concerned about Rachel drifting away from her Christian faith, he tries to do something about it!

The Big Hangover

A young law school graduate is hired by a prestigious firm, but he neglects to inform them he is allergic to even a single whiff of alcohol.

With Honors

Convinced he'll graduate with honors because of his thesis paper, a stuffy Harvard student finds his paper being held hostage by a homeless man, who might be the guy to school the young man in life.

American Teacher

As the debate over the state of America's public school system rages on, one thing everyone agrees on is the need for great teachers. Yet, while research proves that teachers are the most important school factor in a child's future success, America's teachers are so woefully underpaid that almost a third must divide their time between a second job in order to make a living. Chronicling the stories of four teachers in different areas of the country, American Teacher reveals the frustrating realities of today's educators, the difficulty of attracting talented new teachers, and why so many of our best teachers feel forced to leave the profession altogether. But this wake-up call to our system's failings also looks at possibilities for reform. Can we re-value teaching in the United States and turn it into a prestigious, financially attractive and competitive profession? With almost half of American teachers leaving the field in the next five years, now is the time to find out.

Surviving Desire

Jude, a college professor, is obsessed with Sophie, his student. She, in turn, is intrigued by his scholarly charm. Flirtation turns to lust and the two become lovers.

Higher Education

A naive young man from the countryside moves to the big city to study art. Soon he has some strange experiences: His roommate turns out to be the bodyguard-protected son of a mafia boss, his fellow student is desperate to initiate him into love, and his attractive art professor also seems to have it in for him.

To Race The Wind

A lighthearted dramatization of the autobiography of Harold Krents, a blind Harvard Law School student trying to make his way in a sighted world.

Publish or Perish

A tenure-obsessed English professor accidentally takes a student's life. Desperate to protect his career, he makes a fateful decision, sending his life spiraling out of control.

Slip and Fall

What happens when a law student breaks the law to pay for law school? Graduation is only a "slip" away...

Let's Get Frank

When Clinton's decided heterosexuality was placed under fire during the Starr Investigation and ensuing impeachment hearings, gay people strongly identified with the President's discomfort and outrage. Today, public ambitions inspire (or even require) lying, covering up, and shading personal truths for survival. Barney Frank - the first openly gay politician on Capitol Hill understands a thing or two about survival on Capitol Hill. After overcoming his own sex scandal in the early 90's, Frank emerged as one of Clinton's most eloquent and sympathetic defenders during the impeachment hearings. "Let's Get Frank" is an intelligent and humorous look not only at life upon Capitol Hill, but also the dynamics of political scandal.

Suits

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.

Ally McBeal

Ally McBeal is a young lawyer working at the Boston law firm Cage and Fish. Ally's lives and loves are eccentric, humorous, dramatic with an incredibly overactive imagination that's working overtime!

Boston Public

Principal Steven Harper runs Winslow High School as best as he can while dealing with the demands of the faculty, the students and their parents.

Hellcats

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.

How to Get Away with Murder

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.

Perception

Dr. Daniel Pierce, a neuroscientist and professor, is recruited to help the federal government crack difficult cases. His intimate knowledge of human behavior and masterful understanding of the mind give him an extraordinary ability to read people, but his eccentric view of the world and less-than-stellar social skills can often interfere with his work.

Educating …

Educating … is a British documentary television programme produced by Twofour for Channel 4 that has run since 2011. It uses a fly on the wall format to show the everyday lives of the staff and students of various secondary schools around the UK; interspersed with interviews of those involved and featuring narration from the director and interviewer, David Clews. Filmed on location at schools in Harlow, Dewsbury, Walthamstow, Cardiff and Salford respectively, there have been six series to date: Educating Essex (2011), Educating Yorkshire (2013), Educating the East End (2014), Educating Cardiff (2015) and Educating Greater Manchester 1 & 2 (2017 and 2020).

The Worst Witch

Mayhem and mishaps follow young witch Mildred Hubble wherever she goes. She just can't help it! But with her friends' help, Mildred always manages to avoid disaster just in time.

Classroom of the Elite

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji has just enrolled at Tokyo Koudo Ikusei Senior High School, where it's said that 100% of students go on to college or find employment. But he ends up in Class 1-D, which is full of all the school's problem children. What's more, every month, the school awards students points with a cash value of 100,000 yen, and the classes employ a laissez-faire policy in which talking, sleeping, and even sabotage are permitted during class. One month later, Ayanokoji, Horikita, and the students of Class D learn the truth of the system in place within their school...

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