Friday Night Lights (TV series)

Friday Night Lights
Intertitle, seasons 4–5
Genre	Sports drama Teen drama Family drama
Inspired by	Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H. G. Bissinger
Developed by	Peter Berg
Showrunner	Jason Katims
Starring	Kyle Chandler Connie Britton Gaius Charles Zach Gilford Minka Kelly Adrianne Palicki Taylor Kitsch Jesse Plemons Scott Porter Aimee Teegarden Michael B. Jordan Jurnee Smollett Matt Lauria Madison Burge Grey Damon
Theme music composer	W. G. Snuffy Walden
Composers	W. G. Snuffy Walden[1] Bennett Salvay
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	76 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Peter Berg Brian Grazer David Nevins Sarah Aubrey Jason Katims Jeffrey Reiner David Hudgins
Production locations	Austin, Texas Pflugerville, Texas
Cinematography	Todd McMullen David Boyd Ian Ellis
Running time	43 minutes
Production companies	Universal Television Imagine Television Film 44
Original release
Network	NBC (2006–08) The 101 Network (2008–11)
Release	October 3, 2006 (2006-10-03) – February 9, 2011 (2011-02-09)
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Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series developed by Peter Berg and inspired by the eponymous 1990 novel by H. G. Bissinger, which was adapted as the 2004 film of the same name by Berg. Executive producers were Brian Grazer, David Nevins, Sarah Aubrey and Jason Katims who also served as showrunner. The series follows a high school football team in the fictional town of Dillon, a small, close-knit community in rural West Texas. It features an ensemble cast led by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, portraying high school football coach Eric Taylor and his wife Tami Taylor, a school faculty member. The primary cast includes characters associated with football and high school. The show uses its small-town backdrop to address many issues in contemporary American culture like family values, school funding, racism, substance use, abortion and lack of economic opportunities.

Friday Night Lights premiered on October 3, 2006. It aired for two seasons on NBC. In May 2007, the series was renewed for a second season to consist of 19 episodes, but due to the writers' strike, it was shortened to 15 episodes. Although the show had garnered critical acclaim and passionate fans, the series suffered low ratings and was in danger of cancellation after the second season. To save the series, NBC struck a deal with DirecTV to co-produce three more seasons; each subsequent season premiered on DirecTV's 101 Network, with NBC rebroadcasts a few months later.^[2] The series ended its run on The 101 Network on February 9, 2011, after five seasons.^[3][4][5]

Though Friday Night Lights never garnered a sizable audience,^[6] it was a critical success, lauded for its realistic portrayal of Middle America and deep exploration of its central characters. The show appeared on a number of best lists and was awarded a Peabody Award, a Humanitas Prize, a Television Critics Association Award and several technical Primetime Emmy Awards. At the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, the show was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton also scored multiple nominations for the Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress awards for a drama series. Executive producer Jason Katims was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Chandler and Katims each won the Emmy in 2011.^[7]