Entering into its fourth season (and second since the NBC/DirecTV deal), Friday Night Lights is a show in transition on numerous levels. The high school football drama returns tonight to DirecTV's 101 Network at 9 p.m. ET (NBC won't air this season until next summer) and for fans of the show, it's an episode they've long been waiting for.
Ever since the season three finale, as Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his wife Tami (Connie Britton) stepped on to the East Dillon Lions decrepit football field, Eric's new home, the tension has been at an all time high in Dillon, Texas. How can Coach Taylor, a man whom many consider to be a high school football wunderkind, start from scratch with a team that doesn't even exist yet?
With the return of Friday Night Lights right around the corner (it premieres on Wednesday, October 28, at 9PM on DirecTV's 101 Network), there's been a lot of talk about who's returning, who isn't, and just what the heck is gonna happen now that Eric (Kyle Chandler) is coaching the East Dillon Lions and not the Dillon Panthers anymore. There's been plenty of news, too, regarding new characters and how the good-bye arcs for favorites like Matt (Zach Gilford), Tyra (Adrianne Palicki), and Lyla (Minka Kelly) are going to play out
Well, DirecTV has finally released a short promo for the new season and guess what? Despite the fact that it features new footage (as opposed to a recycled season three montage), it gives us absolutely nothing.
But it is pretty damn cool to look at. The set up of a tornado-esque storm ripping apart Dillon and culminating in a rift across the football field while everyone just sort of casually watches and walks away is pretty poetic. You know what else would be poetic? Seeing Eric shove his fist down Joe McCoy's throat in the season four premiere. We can only hope.
This is a tough category to crack. It's saying a lot that the always fantastic Hugh Laurie has yet to win for House. That's how tough the competition is.
But, just like the Oscars have expanded to include 10 Best Picture nominees, I think we could make room for a few more actors on this particular ballot. There's definitely one person I want to see make the 2009 Emmy list: Kyle Chandler for Friday Night Lights.
Fans of Friday Night Lights who have been freaking out about the possibility that the show wasn't going to come back for another season can relax: the show is actually coming back for two more seasons.
To be precise, they're two 13-episode seasons. But that's a lot better than what the news was looking like just a few weeks ago. Michael Ausiello reports that the news will be announced "any day now." It confirms news that he broke a couple of weeks ago.
Should Friday Night Lights come back for another season? EW's Michael Ausiello is reporting that a deal could be in the works, not just for one season, but for two. The avid fan that I've become wants to root for this possibility, but as a critic, I know this is a bad idea.
Look, I love the show as much as a die-hard fan can. I've gone so far as to inquire about getting my own Dillon Panther t-shirt. I think Tami and Coach Taylor are the best couple on television. I live by the edict WWCTD (What Would Coach Taylor Do). Yet, despite my need to have"I-heart-Tim-Riggins" tattooed onto my forearm, they still shouldn't bring this show back for another two seasons.
Before fans start the dog-pile, let me make my case after the jump.
Update: For folks (like me) who haven't seen the season already on Direct TV, tread carefully in the comments. They contain spoilers.
(S03E02) That episode title gets right to the heart of one of the main stories this week. Although, perhaps it should have been followed by a question mark. The backlash from Tami's decision to nix the jumbotron, which we all knew was coming, started this week, and things don't look so good for our favorite principal. Meanwhile, Brian continued to search for Smash, Tyra went back to basics for her campaign, Tim and Lyla continued the vicious cycle, and we got a little peek into Matt Saracen's past. It all made for a very good hour of television.
(S03E01) And so begins phase two of NBC's grand Friday Night Lights experiment. The show kicked off it's third season on NBC Friday night, but all of these episodes have already been shown on DirecTV. Allison reviewed the premiere back in October, but we thought we'd run it up the flagpole again and see who salutes.
Despite the delay for those of us without DirecTV, the season premiere made it so easy to slip right back into the series. Most of our favorite Dillonites are back, and we were quickly brought up to speed with what each of them has been up to. We also got a good look at where a lot of these stories will be heading.
The best NBC drama currently in production hasn't been doing much to help the Nielsen ratings. That's because the show, Friday Night Lights, isn't being shown on NBC right now. Season three has been unspooling on DirecTV and after eight episodes, the award-winning series is in the midst of a top-notch season.
In fact, after somewhat coming off the rails last season with Landry and Tyra's murder plot, Riggins and Street in Mexico, and Matt's involvement with Grandma's nurse, this year's shows are focused, complex and definitely back on track.
That starts with Tami and Eric. Coach Taylor remains as coiled as ever, only now the pressure to succeed seems even more intense because of the emergence of J.D. McCoy, the phenom freshman quarterback. J.D.'s pushy father and personal quarterback coach tick Eric off, but he likes the kid and has demoted Matt in order to give the more talented player a chance.
NBC and its various cable stations are making their presentations today and tomorrow. Since it is Sunday, the critics got a little bit of a break and didn't have to start until noon, when a lunch session was held for Friday Night Lights. This session had a little bit of added juice, due to the unique deal NBC struck to have DirecTV shoulder the cost of producing the series in exchange for the rights to air new episodes on the satellite service first, before they air on NBC. Thirteen episodes will be produced and will air in October on DirecTV's 101 Network, and they'll air in February on the Peacock network.
Not surprisingly, there were as many questions about the new arrangement as there were about the creative aspects of the show. Show-runner Jason Katims and DirecTV entertainment head Eric Shanks fielded most of those questions, and the cast of the show fielded the rest.
It's a question that popped up even before our pals in Dillon had their premiere. What are they going to do when these kids start graduating? Well, we have an answer now, and I'm not sure it's going to be embraced by everyone. EW's Michael Ausiello reports that Gaius Charles (Smash) and Scott Porter (Street) have been moved to recurring status.
Producer Jason Katims released a statement that says both characters will get four episode arcs to move them into the next chapter of their lives. Presumably, those would be chapters that won't be captured by the handheld Friday Night Lights cams. The cynic in me can't help thinking that this has as much to do with the shaky nature of the FNL renewal as it does with being able to work these characters into the show. After all, the idea of budget cuts after the strange Direct TV deal isn't an outlandish one. That being said, the explanation is reasonable. They were going to have to address the graduation dilemma eventually.
Another day, another list of 10 semifinalists from the Emmys. This time, it's the Best Actor in a Drama.
There are a lot of the usual suspects on the list (which will be knocked down to five nominees in the next round), including actors from Dexter, Mad Men, Grey's Anatomy, Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad, and House. One show that's not represented is Lost. I thought Matthew Fox did some great work this season, especially his drunk/screwed-up scenes.
(S02E15) Yeah. So, we can't really talk about this episode without getting into the possibility that this was the series finale of Friday Night Lights. No matter what comes of the big meetings this weekend regarding the writer's strike, there are no guarantees that the show will even get to finish season two, let alone come back for a third go. Recent comments from the network certainly don't paint an optimistic picture. And all of that is important, because where this episode ends up in the time line of the show will ultimately determine how successful it was. As episode 15 of a 22 episode second season, it was solid. As the series finale, not so much.
(S02E14) This episode left me comparing the show itself to its own fictional Panthers football team. Both had their seasons get off to a rough start, but now everyone seems to be coming together in the hopes of a strong finish. There are still no guarantees for another run at state, or a third season, but tonight was a step in the right direction for both teams. With some great development for Saracen, a turn in the Landry/Tyra story that didn't make you want to kick a writer in the crotch, and the continuation of Smash's story, a lot of points were put on the board.
(S02E12) It's an interesting title for what was ultimately a strange episode. The show on the whole continues to improve after what was a weak start to the season, but it's not without some bumps in the road. We could ask that question of so many of the characters after what we saw in this episode. Lyla, Riggins, Smash, Buddy, Santiago, Mrs. Williams. Just as easily though, it could be turned on the powers that be over at FNL.
Judy writes... "I'm trying to find about a tv show that was in the 1990s that was cancelled. It was about a guy living in the city. He would look at the newspaper. The newspaper told the future. He would see a disaster and then save the person. Do you know the name of this tv show?"
I'm sure most of you recognize that the show in question is Early Edition starring Kyle Chandler.
This is a tough category to crack. It's saying a lot that the always fantastic Hugh Laurie has yet to win for 
Fans of Friday Night Lights who have been freaking out about the possibility that the show wasn't going to come back for another season can relax: the show is actually coming back for two more seasons.
Should Friday Night Lights come back for another season? EW's Michael Ausiello 
The best NBC drama currently in production hasn't been doing much to help the Nielsen ratings. That's because the show, 
It's a question that popped up even before our pals in Dillon had their premiere. What are they going to do when these kids start graduating? Well, we have an answer now, and I'm not sure it's going to be embraced by everyone. 
Another day, another list of 10 semifinalists from the Emmys. This time, it's the 
This week's question was rather easy.
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