Alex Massie Alex Massie

Friday Night Heartbreak

Yay! Friday Night Lights returns this evening. If I hadn’t already seen the first episode of series two online I’d be setting the Tivo. If you haven’t seen the first series yet I highly recommend you do so soon because, alas, I fear the second series may prove a disappointment.

If I’m right, it will be because NBC has killed the show in an effort to save it. It’s pretty well known now, I think, that despite all the (entirely-merited) critical acclaim it received, FNL struggled to find an audience throughout its first season. Was it a show about Texas high school football? Or was it a show about families and relationships and their struggles in a small and somewhat-down-on-its-luck town in the middle of nowhere? NBC couldn’t make up their minds.

But we can tell they have now. In the first place the show is being moved to Friday night. This might, you may think, make sense. Heck, it’s the title ain’t it? But of course this also means that since Friday night is High School football night, those most interested in high school football will not be watching. No surprise then that NBC has decided that there shouldn’t be as much attention paid to the football.

This seems silly. I concur with Matt Feeney when he says:

I’m rooting for FNL’s continued survival, but I’m also prepared to honor its glorious early death.

The first series worked because it was centred around the football team. The football team is Dillon’s flagship. The success of the Dillon Panthers is a barometer for the health (psychologically anyway) of the town itself. To fail on the football field is to let down, even betray, your community. The football team defines the town.

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