Friday Night Lights TV series

Friday Night Lights is an American television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. During the first three seasons the series details events surrounding the Dillon Panthers and, a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to the team's coach, Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his family. In the fourth season Taylor takes over at East Dillon High School, where he coaches the Lions. The show uses this small-town backdrop to address many issues facing contemporary Middle America.

Produced by NBC Universal, Friday Night Lights is broadcast by NBC and DirecTV (The 101 Network). Premiered on October 3, 2006 on NBC with an initial order of 13 episodes, the show was eventually picked up for a full season. NBC renewed the show for a full 22-episode second season, which began airing on October 5, 2007. Only 15 of these episodes were completed before production was stopped due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, leading to speculation that the show might be canceled. However, NBC renewed the show with DirecTV for a 13-episode third season; episodes began airing on DirecTV's The 101 Network on 1 October 2008 and were rebroadcast on NBC. On March 30, 2009, NBC officially renewed the series yet again, for two additional seasons of 13 episodes apiece with DirecTV. To date, Friday Night Lights has aired 63 episodes, concluding its fourth season on DirecTV on February 10, 2010. The fourth season will also be shown on NBC beginning on May 7, 2010. NBC has confirmed that the fifth season will be the final season.

Friday Night Lights has never obtained a sizable audience. However, it has been a critical success, lauded for its realistic portrayal of Middle America and deep personal exploration of its central characters. The show has been awarded a Peabody Award, a Humanitas Prize, an Emmy Award, and a Television Critics Association Award.