Texas Forever: Two more seasons on "Friday Night Lights"

"Friday Night Lights" fans everywhere are either screaming for joy or breathing a sigh of relief this morning. Either way, they can rest easy for two more years now that NBC has pledged to renew the show for two -- yes, TWO -- more seasons of the critically loved but depressingly low-rated show.

The two seasons will work under the same plan as season three -- each of the 13 episode-seasons will air first on DirecTV, then on NBC with both networks sharing the costs. To keep production costs even lower, both seasons might be taped back-to-back in Austin, where the show gets plenty of tax incentives and hometown love.

Of course, with a few of its main characters-- including Lyla (Minka Kelley) and Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) -- graduating at the end of season three, it's time for a few new hotties and hunks to enter the halls of Dillon High. But mainstays Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton will continue in their roles as Coach Eric Taylor and Principal Tami Taylor. (And Thank God for that -- I can't even bring myself to imagine the show without these two in the middle -- why, it'd be like "Seinfeld" with no Jerry or "Friends" with just Joey... oh, wait... (See our post below on spinoffs for more).

Now I've been an evangelist for this show, well, since I discovered it, but I'm hardly the first fan to implore everyone I know to watch. Discovering "Friday Night Lights" is like getting into a really great band or delving into an amazing book. It's really an experience that'll stick with you -- one you won't regret. We "FNL" fans are a cultish lot, I'll admit, but there's a reason we're so damn loyal to the show -- it really is that good. How else does a low-rated show get resurrected not once, but three times?

Full episodes from seasons 1 and 2, plus videos from the current season airing on NBC are available online through early May here.

Not convinced? I've included two scenes to illustrate how varied this show is -- a game night clip from season one and one from season three, where veteran badboy Tim Riggins gives the new quarterback a "tour" of Dillon. (Side note: the team playing the Dillon Panthers in the game clip is in fact a real Texas high school -- my alma mater, the ACM Tigers).





-- Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com