Friday Night Lights (2006– )

The trials and tribulations of small town Texas football players, their friends, family, and coaching staff.

Stars:

Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Aimee Teegarden

Won 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 11 wins & 49 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Kyle Chandler	...	Eric Taylor (76 episodes, 2006-2011)
Connie Britton	...	Tami Taylor (76 episodes, 2006-2011)
Aimee Teegarden	...	Julie Taylor (75 episodes, 2006-2011)
Taylor Kitsch	...	Tim Riggins (68 episodes, 2006-2011)
Jesse Plemons	...	Landry Clarke (65 episodes, 2006-2011)
Brad Leland	...	Buddy Garrity (64 episodes, 2006-2011)
Zach Gilford	...	Matt Saracen (62 episodes, 2006-2011)
Derek Phillips	...	Billy Riggins (59 episodes, 2006-2011)
Minka Kelly	...	Lyla Garrity (52 episodes, 2006-2009)
Adrianne Palicki	...	Tyra Collette (52 episodes, 2006-2011)
Blue Deckert	...	Mac Macgill (49 episodes, 2006-2011)
Louanne Stephens	...	Mrs. Saracen (44 episodes, 2006-2011)
Stacey Oristano	...	Mindy Collette (43 episodes, 2006-2011)
Scott Porter	...	Jason Street (42 episodes, 2006-2010)
Gaius Charles	...	Brian 'Smash' Williams (41 episodes, 2006-2008)
Gary Teague	...	Teacher (33 episodes, 2007-2009)
Timothy F. Crowley	...	Coach Crowley (32 episodes, 2006-2011)

Storyline

In the small town of Dillon, Texas, one night matters: Friday Night. Eric Taylor has recently been hired as the head football coach for the Dillon High School Panthers, the town's pride and joy. Friday Night Lights displays the stress that the town gives the high school players to win, and the hope that the team gives to a small town, and how a team has its low points, its high points, and how they come together as a team on their way to victory.

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Plot Keywords:

small town | texas | high school | coach | football coach | 

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Taglines:

It's more than just a game

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Details

Official Sites:

NBC [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

F.N.L.

Filming Locations:

Georgetown, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagine Television, Film 44, NBC Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

43 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the 2012 U.S. Presidential Campaign, Republican nominee Mitt Romney used the phrase "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose" in one of his stump speeches. Peter Berg, one of the show's writers, directors, and executive producers, responded in an open letter that Romney had "plagiarized" the phrase and that his "politics and campaign are clearly not aligned with the themes we portrayed in our series. The only relevant comparison that I see between [the Romney] campaign and Friday Night Lights is in the character of Buddy Garrity -- who turned his back on American car manufacturers selling imported cars from Japan." Berg finished his open letter to Romney by saying "please come up with your own campaign slogan."

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Goofs

During the episodes showing Coach Taylor visiting, and subsequently working at, (the fictional) Texas Methodist University, the end-zones of the field have "Texas State" written on them.

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Quotes

Tim Riggins: Texas forever.

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Connections

Referenced in Shameless: Hurricane Monica (2012)

User Reviews

More real than reality TV

Friday Night Lights is an excellent show. Truthful, honest, gripping, funny, and (insert your favourite adjective here), the show depicts small town life in rural Texas/(insert the name of your hometown here). While on the surface the show is about football, it is a very engaging amount of football where you find yourself cheering for the key moments the way you would if you were watching your little brother's high school football game.

FNLs is about more than football though - NBC and Peter Berg have created a gem of a show, with realistic story lines and realistic characters. Kyle Chandler (Dylan the Bomb Guy for all you Grey's fans) and Connie Britton have done a fantastic job as the two adult leads, Scott Porter has done a fantastic job at portraying someone who is paralyzed, and Aimee Teegarden and Zach Gilford are extremely believable as two teenagers in love for the first time.

Give the show a chance - you'll be hooked!