Friday Night Lights (TV show)

Friday Night Lights
Intertitle, seasons 4–5
Genre	Sports drama Teen drama Family drama
Based on	Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H. G. Bissinger
Developed by	Peter Berg
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
Composer(s)	W. G. Snuffy Walden
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	76 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Peter Berg Brian Grazer David Nevins Sarah Aubrey Jason Katims Jeffrey Reiner David Hudgins
Location(s)	Austin, Texas Pflugerville, Texas
Cinematography	Todd McMullen David Boyd Ian Ellis
Running time	43 minutes
Production company(s)	Universal Media Studios Imagine Television Film 44
Distributor	NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original network	NBC The 101 Network (2008–11)
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Original release	October 3, 2006 (2006-10-03) – February 9, 2011 (2011-02-09)
External links
Website	www.nbc.com/friday-night-lights/

Friday Night Lights is an American drama television series about a high school football team in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas. It was developed by Peter Berg and executive produced by Brian Grazer, David Nevins, Sarah Aubrey and Jason Katims, based on the 1990 nonfiction book by H. G. Bissinger, adapted as the 2004 film of the same name. The series' primary setting, Dillon, is a small, close-knit community in rural Texas. Team coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his family, Tami, Julie and Grace, are featured. The show uses this small-town backdrop to address many issues facing contemporary American culture, including family values, school funding, racism, drugs, abortion and lack of economic opportunities.

Produced by NBCUniversal, Friday Night Lights premiered on October 3, 2006, and aired for two seasons on NBC. 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. The series ended its run on The 101 Network on February 9, 2011, after five seasons.

Though Friday Night Lights never garnered a sizable audience, 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.