It looks like Friday Night Lights is back, but don’t expect it where you can stream the original series. After an intense bidding war for the reboot of the series, Deadline brings word that NBC Universal’s Peacock will be the home for the new Friday Night Lights reboot; NBC of course was responsible for broadcasting the original series. The project will be brought to life by the same team who were responsible for the original Friday Night Lights including creator Peter Berg, showrunner Jason Katims, and executive producer Brian Grazer.
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An official description for the new Friday Night Lights not only confirms a change in scenery, but also the sport at the center of the series. It reads: “Following a devastating hurricane, a ragtag high school football team and their damaged, interim coach make an unlikely bid for a Texas high school state championship, becoming a beacon of light for their town.” Of note is that the original Friday Night Lights took place in a rural west Texas town, meaning fans of the original series may not see a return to Dillon, Texas if this series is set on the coast of the Lonestar State.
The show, and the original film by Peter Berg, were inspired by the non-fiction book, Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger. Friday Night Lights first ran from 2006 to 2011, but even before the final season, the ratings were starting to slow and rumors of cancelation began to circulate. NBC was determined to avoid this situation and asked DirecTV for support for a third season. Although an agreement was reached between the two broadcasters, a budget adjustment was necessary. Despite this, the series failed to regain momentum, but Berg refused to give up on the universe and has been toying with a return for years.
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Back in 2015, Kyle Chandler who played Eric Taylor and won an Emmy for the original series (and is now preparing to become the new Green Lantern at DC) revealed that he had no interest in returning for any Friday Night Lights spinoff or continuation. The actor revealed he felt the series had ended perfectly and there was no reason to continue with the story, telling EW: “It ended so well, it ended beautifully. And I was more than happy for it to end when it did, because you couldn’t have gone much further.”
There is no confirmation yet if the entire cast of the reboot will be new or if some old characters will return. Notable now-famous faces that appeared in the original Friday Night Lights include Taylor Kitsch, Jesse Plemons, Adrianne Palicki, Michael B. Jordan, and Jurnee Smollett. With the series in active development however then. Now we just have to wait and hope that the new adaptation reaches the same dramatic heights as the original.