Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series developed by Peter Berg and inspired by the 1990 nonfiction book 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
- W. G. Snuffy Walden[1]
- Bennett Salvay
United States
English
5
76 (list of episodes)
- Peter Berg
- Brian Grazer
- David Nevins
- Sarah Aubrey
- Jason Katims
- Jeffrey Reiner
- David Hudgins
- Todd McMullen
- David Boyd
- Ian Ellis
43 minutes
- NBC (2006–08)
- The 101 Network (2008–11)
October 3, 2006 –
February 9, 2011
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]
Television ratings[edit]
U.S. ratings[edit]
Though it was critically acclaimed, Friday Night Lights never enjoyed high ratings. The first two seasons averaged roughly 6 million viewers each.[62][63] Ratings dropped in subsequent seasons with the third season averaging 4.6 million viewers,[64] the fourth season with 3.8 million,[65] and fifth season with 3.6 million.[66]
DVR ratings[edit]
On December 29, 2006 Nielsen Media Research reported the results of having, for the first time, monitored viewers who use a Digital Video Recorder to record shows for later viewing. These ratings, called "live plus seven", include all viewers who use a DVR to record the show and then watch it within a week of its initial airing.
According to the Nielsen numbers, DVR viewers increased Friday Night Lights ratings by 7.5% overall in December.[68] When Nielsen monitored viewers again in April 2007 the increase went up to 17% for the week ending on April 8.[69]
Affluent viewers[edit]
On March 5, 2007, Media Life Magazine reported that Friday Night Lights was one of the most popular shows among "affluent viewers" who had little experience playing football. This was determined using a report from Magna Global who in turn used analysis done by Nielsen Media Research. Affluence in the study was determined by yearly income.
In the study, Friday Night Lights tied for the 11th most watched show by affluent viewers. According to the study viewers of the show have a median household income of $65,000 per year.[70]
Distribution[edit]
Online episodes[edit]
Streaming videos, such as cast interviews and the full episode from the previous week, have been available on NBC.com since the series' inception. In December 2006, NBC expanded this selection to include every episode of the season. The move to offer every episode was made for only a few select shows and represents a marketing push on NBC's part.[71]
In addition to the free ad-support offerings, every episode of Friday Night Lights became available for download on the iTunes Store on February 10, 2007, for $1.99 per episode. As a special promotion, the pilot was initially offered as a free download.[72] The series was available on Netflix through October 1, 2017.[73] The series returned to Netflix in the United States on August 1, 2021.[74]
Syndication[edit]
ABC Family acquired syndication rights for the first four seasons and began airing reruns September 6, 2010,[75] but it was pulled on October 18, 2010, due to low ratings.[76] In July 2011, it was announced that ESPN Classic had acquired the rights of all five seasons and started airing the series beginning on July 12, 2011.[77]
In an attempt to bolster series ratings, NBC repositioned reruns of the show to air on its sister network Bravo, during the weeks leading up to the season one finale on NBC. These episodes aired on a schedule of one hour every Friday and three hours every Saturday. Bravo is known to have an audience that is upscale and largely female, which is in line with the new strategy of NBC's then-President Kevin Reilly (now at FOX) for selling the show.[78] When questioned about this strategy, he admitted to having regrets about initially marketing the show incorrectly, saying: "It's been so clear to me that [the marketing for] the show ended up confusing people in terms of what [the public thought] it was supposed to be". He said he felt the show is, at its core, a "women's show", and his wish is that the marketing had reflected that to a greater extent.[60]
Once the 2006–2007 television season ended, NBC planned to air reruns throughout the summer in the hopes of gaining new viewers during the summer hiatus. Despite rising ratings for the reruns, NBC abruptly pulled them from the network's schedule on June 24, 2007. NBC resumed airing reruns in late August/early September, timed to the Season 1 DVD release.[79]
TeenNick acquired the rights in 2015 and began airing the series, in chronological order, on April 10, 2015, with a week-long event in which three episodes aired nightly.[80]
DirecTV[edit]
During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, NBC Universal's decision to release the Season 2 DVD with only the 15 produced episodes and comments by NBC chief Ben Silverman led to speculation that the show would be canceled.[81]
In March 2008, it was confirmed that NBC had picked up the series for a third season, after a cost-sharing partnership between NBC and DirecTV was struck. The agreement had first run episodes airing exclusively on DirecTV, and the episodes aired on NBC at a later date.[82] Season 3 premiered exclusively on DirecTV channel 101, with the episodes replaying on NBC beginning on January 16, 2009. In March 2009, NBC announced it had renewed the series for two more seasons.[83]
Home media releases[edit]
DVD and Blu-ray[edit]
The first season was released on DVD in region 1 on August 28, 2007, and in region 2 on October 29, 2007.[84] Special features include deleted scenes from several episodes and a featurette titled "Behind The Lights: Creating The First Season of Friday Night Lights".[85]
The second season was released on DVD in region 1 on April 22, 2008, and in region 2 on February 11, 2013.[86] Special features include deleted scenes from several episodes, audio commentaries for "Last Days of Summer", "Are You Ready for Friday Night" and "There Goes the Neighborhood" and a featurette titled "Friday Night Lights Cast & Producers at the Paley Festival in L.A.".[87]
The third season was released on DVD in region 1 on May 19, 2009, and in region 2 on March 25, 2013.[88] Special features include deleted scenes from various episode and an audio commentary for "Tomorrow Blues".[89]
The fourth season was released on DVD in region 1 on August 17, 2010, and in region 2 on May 20, 2013.[90] Special features include deleted scenes from various episodes, audio commentary for "East of Dillon", and several behind-the-scenes featurettes.[91]
The fifth season was released on DVD in region 1 on April 5, 2011, and in region 2 on August 12, 2013.[92] Special features include deleted scenes from several episodes, audio commentaries for "Don't Go" and "Always", a featurette titled "The Lights Go Out", and a photo gallery.[93]
A complete series box set containing all the episodes and material from the individual season sets was released in region 1 on October 4, 2011.[94]
In March 2016, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series in region 1; they subsequently re-released the first two seasons on DVD on September 6, 2016.[95] On September 26, 2017, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the complete series on DVD and also released the complete series on Blu-ray for the first time; however, these releases lacked the previously included special features.[96]
Soundtracks[edit]
Two soundtracks with music featured on the show were released. The first, Friday Night Lights, was released in 2007, and included music from The Killers, OutKast, and Explosions in the Sky, who had produced the score for the film. The second soundtrack, Friday Night Lights Vol. 2, was released in 2010, and included the main "Friday Night Lights Theme" by W. G. Walden. The score for both the film and television show, along with all background music and all instrumental music is performed by Explosions in the Sky.
Cancelled film sequel[edit]
In July 2011, it was revealed that creator and executive producer Peter Berg was interested in continuing the series, as a feature film.[97] In August 2011, Berg said at a Television Critics Association panel that the Friday Night Lights film is in development. Berg said, "We're very serious about trying to do it", adding that the script was being written. Universal Pictures and Imagine Television would produce the film, with Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton set to return.[98] In May 2013, executive producer Brian Grazer confirmed the film was continuing to be developed.[99] In December 2013, Berg confirmed that a film would not be moving forward.[100]