Writer: Anna Malefatto
Friday Night Lights should have been cancelled years ago, because it’s awesome and underrated. All the awesome and underrated shows I’ve loved over the years — Freaks and Geeks, Wonderfalls, Arrested Development, Pushing Daisies, etc. — have been cancelled. But, strangely enough, the hidden gem Friday Night Lights remains on the air. And really, thank the TV gods!
The show stars Kyle Chandler (of Early Edition...fame?) as Coach Eric Taylor and Connie Britton as his wife Tami. It follows their lives as Coach Taylor tries to survive as a high school football coach in Dillon, a small struggling Texas town. The show also follows several of the Dillon High School Panthers football team members, mainly Jason Street, Tim Riggins, Smash Williams, and Matt Saracen.
The characters are definitely the best part of the show, each of the main characters is really well developed and fleshed out. Coach and Mrs. Taylor are a great couple, they embody goodness without being saccharine and trite, and Chandler and Britton’s acting is flawless, as is the rest of the acting. Every character is believable and sincere. It’s refreshing to watch a show in which the characters are real people with real struggles, ones that most Americans can relate to on one level or another.
The story of the small town whose only joy lies on the shoulders of a high school football team is also the backbone of the show. It’s mostly an underdog story, Dillon and its residents basically have nothing else to live for besides football. This adds real drama to the football games, which are featured in almost every episode. I admit that I’m a huge football fan, which is what initially drew me to this show, but it is by no means a necessity to enjoy the show. Even if you have no idea what’s going on, every game turns into a nail biter, because so much is riding on each one.
Visually, it’s also extremely well done. The whole show is shot on location in Texas, and it gives everything a very authentic feel. It wouldn’t work nearly as well if every scene was shot on a set.
The is now in its fourth season, and a lot has changed since the beginning of the show. Because it is about a high school, there have been a lot of cast changes over the four seasons, but the show has held up really well with the transitions. It’s much more realistic than attempting to follow the characters’ lives outside of Dillon. The town and the coach are the center of the show, so the ebb and flow of students only makes sense. It also gives some revitalization to the show in the fourth season, which has the most new characters.
Basically, if you enjoy good TV drama, you will like Friday Night Lights. The first three seasons are on Netflix Watch Instantly, and the fourth is currently airing on DirecTV, and NBC will re-air season 4 starting April 30th.
Friday Night Lights on Netflix Watch Instantly!
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
The show stars Kyle Chandler (of Early Edition...fame?) as Coach Eric Taylor and Connie Britton as his wife Tami. It follows their lives as Coach Taylor tries to survive as a high school football coach in Dillon, a small struggling Texas town. The show also follows several of the Dillon High School Panthers football team members, mainly Jason Street, Tim Riggins, Smash Williams, and Matt Saracen.
The characters are definitely the best part of the show, each of the main characters is really well developed and fleshed out. Coach and Mrs. Taylor are a great couple, they embody goodness without being saccharine and trite, and Chandler and Britton’s acting is flawless, as is the rest of the acting. Every character is believable and sincere. It’s refreshing to watch a show in which the characters are real people with real struggles, ones that most Americans can relate to on one level or another.
The story of the small town whose only joy lies on the shoulders of a high school football team is also the backbone of the show. It’s mostly an underdog story, Dillon and its residents basically have nothing else to live for besides football. This adds real drama to the football games, which are featured in almost every episode. I admit that I’m a huge football fan, which is what initially drew me to this show, but it is by no means a necessity to enjoy the show. Even if you have no idea what’s going on, every game turns into a nail biter, because so much is riding on each one.
Visually, it’s also extremely well done. The whole show is shot on location in Texas, and it gives everything a very authentic feel. It wouldn’t work nearly as well if every scene was shot on a set.
The is now in its fourth season, and a lot has changed since the beginning of the show. Because it is about a high school, there have been a lot of cast changes over the four seasons, but the show has held up really well with the transitions. It’s much more realistic than attempting to follow the characters’ lives outside of Dillon. The town and the coach are the center of the show, so the ebb and flow of students only makes sense. It also gives some revitalization to the show in the fourth season, which has the most new characters.
Basically, if you enjoy good TV drama, you will like Friday Night Lights. The first three seasons are on Netflix Watch Instantly, and the fourth is currently airing on DirecTV, and NBC will re-air season 4 starting April 30th.
Friday Night Lights on Netflix Watch Instantly!
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3