Season 1 - 22 episodes (2006-07)
Season 2 - 15 episodes (2007-08)
Season 3 - 13 episodes (2008-09)
Season 4 - 13 episodes (2009-10)
Season 5 - 13 episodes (2010-11)
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Created by: Peter Berg (developed for television by)
Inspired by: H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger's non-fiction book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream (1990)
Starring: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Zach Gilford, Aimee Teegarden, Brad Leland, Taylor Kitsch, Jesse Plemons, Derek Phillips, Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki, Gaius Charles, Scott Porter
Rated: TV-14
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Plot
A drama that follows the lives of the Dillon Panthers, one of the nation's best high school football teams, and their head coach Eric Taylor.
Verdict
This is a show about relationships packaged in high school football. These are characters that we get to know. We root for them in spite of themselves. It's the characters that face the worst that we root for the most. At the center of it is Coach Taylor as he tries to teach and lead his team where every Friday night they'll face incredible competition, but what's most engrossing is what these characters face off the field. During this series, whether you play football or not, you'll want Taylor as your coach. This show does an excellent job developing characters. It keeps you engaged throughout. The series does shift in season four, and while it's still excellent, you're likely to miss the original cast in the last two seasons. Despite that, you won't be able to stop watching.
Watch It.
Review
Inspired by the book and the 2004 film based on it, the series feels realistic by using actual locations rather than stage sets while filming hundreds of locals as extras.
This is a town where high school football is the biggest thing going. Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) arrives as the new coach where losing is not an option. I saw this series when it aired, and this show was so addicting, heartfelt, and touching. It felt real. The dynamic between coach and his wife Tami (Connie Britton), they seem like a married couple. The characters were always engaging. Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) always tried to do the right thing but never got it right. It's such a fun show, even when it pivots after season three, the series is still engrossing. I appreciate the show didn't keep the characters in high school forever, though some do stick around for a while.
My season ranking would be one, three, four, five, two. One is clearly the best, aided by more episodes. Three is a return to form after two's wild story lines. While I think four might be better than three, I miss the original characters in season four.
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| Season 1 |
Season one is absolutely great television. This show is shot with handheld camera, making it feel like some kind of documentary. The writing helps, as situations feel natural. New high school football coach Eric Taylor gets to lead the powerhouse team, the Dillon Panthers. Taylor has coached standout quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter) since he was a kid. Expectations for the season are incredibly high. I love how you get all these people telling the coach and players how to play. That's one of the many aspects this gets right, these small annoying moments.
We're introduced to a big cast where not everyone gets along. These are friends, enemies, and some are in between. The first episode manages to achieve an emotional moment, and it didn't take numerous episodes. You feel the moment. It's an absolutely amazing pilot.
Each episode shows the community and people. It grounds the show. You've got to be thick skinned in this show. Everyone has an opinion. There are plenty of alumni that have nothing in their lives but memories of high school football. It's small stakes, but the show makes it so engaging. A big part of this season is Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) taking over as quarterback and being unprepared for that role.
Past that, this is still a high school setting so there's plenty of relationship drama. The characters absolutely make this show. They are convoluted, conflicted, and don't always make good decisions. Riggins was my favorite on the first watch. He always wants to do the right thing, but he often fumbles it.
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| S1: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton play Eric, Tammie Taylor |
Each season is roughly a school year. Season two picks up not long after season two. There's a new coach in Dillon as Coach Taylor is a coach at a college and commuting a long distance. It's clear neither of those will last. This season has a wild story arc. It felt out there the first time I saw it. I forgot that arc starts in the first episode with Landry (Jesse Plemons) and Tyra (Adrianne Palicki). This plot keeps getting bigger throughout the season.
I do question how the football team only had one senior, Street. I'm guessing this is more just creative storytelling.
Coach Taylor returns, though that's not a surprise. As with every season there is always drama. Smash (Gaius Charles) and Matt are at odds. With the greatest high school football players on the team, egos get big.
Riggins gets himself in trouble. He has a good heart, and that's why you can't help but like him. You get why he makes the decisions he does, but he's loyal. He's a family man without a family. Anytime he gets something close to a family he goes over the top trying to hold onto something that isn't fully formed.
Season one is certainly better, aided by more episodes. Season two goes for outlandish. I get the why but it's not necessary, It's overly dramatic. The drama keeps you watching, but it's indulgent.
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| S1: Adrianne Palicki, Taylor Kitsch play Tyra Collete, Tim Riggins |
Season three wastes no time. Most shows would show the team playing in the finals, this show skips over that to what happens after and jump start the season.Matt gets a challenger to the quarterback position in J.D. McCoy (Jeremy Sumpter). Coach is faced with starting the more talented athlete or the player he's relied on for two seasons. McCoy is the adversary, though the show starts to develop the character just a bit later. It feels like a missed opportunity as we don't see much of him after this season. McCoy's dad is even worse.
Tami is a principal and feeling pressure from the football boosters as she tries to bolster academics.
Some of the main cast finally graduate. This season felt like the end of the season with graduations and Coach Taylor ousted from his job.
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| S1: Zach Gilford plays Matt Saracen |
Season four and five are a new story. Coach Taylor starts a new job and the original high school cast appears much less often. Coach had the best team and facilities, and now he's starting with nothing. Being Coach Taylor, we know he can turn the tide. Vince (Michael B. Jordan) is just the athlete to turn the team around.
McCoy was a kid contending with an overbearing parent in season three. Now he just plays a typical jerk, and that never changes. I'd guess part of that is that the show has moved on from the Dillon Panthers.
Tami faces even more backlash as she tries to do the right thing. In Texas, anything that affects football negatively is bad.
There's plenty of drama and crime going on. While McCoy's dad was a nuisance before, he's largely nonexistent this season. He got what he wanted. He runs Dillon now.
This season is certainly solid, but I missed the characters I've seen grow over three seasons. This season has an argument of being better than season three, but the downside is that I miss the original cast.
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| Season 5: Michael B. Jordan, Matt Lauria play Vince Howard, Luke Cafferty |
Season five leans hard into drama. Vince deals with old friends and his dad reappearing, seeing an opportunity to capitalize on Vince. Julie also has plenty of drama, that seemed poised to throw her life off track. None of the original high school cast is present, though being the final season we get a few curtain calls. The show ties everything up quite neatly. It's certainly convenient that the high schools merging forces everyone to make big decisions.
The show certainly veers into soap opera at times, but these characters are well developed. None better that Coach Taylor. All of them have their faults and strengths. We root for them to win and cringe when they make poor choices. I don't care for football, but the sport is just the foundation for the stories that unfurl.
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