This is the best show that no one saw.
No one saw, huh? That's right. This show which has garnered 35 nominations from various award ceremonies over the past five seasons and was a show that no one saw. Why you ask? Well, this show has had an interesting past. It premiered on NBC (the owner of the rights), to flop-like ratings. However, with such tremendous support from critics and NBC execs, the show found a new distribution pathway - DirecTV. Yes, unusual. This means that only those who get DirecTV can see what happens with Jason Street, Tim Riggins, Matt Saracen and Coach Taylor in the following seasons. So, after the season airs on DirecTV, NBC then re-runs them on NBC months later but at a less-than-prestigious time slot. That actually sounds like a decent compromise, because if the DirecTV deal didn't go through, there would have been only one season, instead of five.
So, now that we understand why this show didn't hold an audience due to its unfamiliar distribution strategy, we must turn to the story itself. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (FNL) is a drama that is shot in a documentary-style. It follows Coach Eric Taylor (football coach in a small town of Dillon, TX) and his wife, Tami, and daughter, Julie, as they deal with high school, football, and living large in Texas. Sounds terrible, right? Or at least it sounds like any old primetime soap, right? Well you are wrong. This show is not over the top, this show is probably the most realistic depiction of small town, USA on television. There is so much heart and courage in not just the stories, but in the style and acting that the show resonates with numerous, die-hard fans of all ages. First off, the football is accurate, not just "played at" but is the most accurate of any sports I have seen depicted on television. Second, the relationships between the high school sweethearts, the best friends, the married couples and the town are all well within the realm of reality and are probably too accurate. This is why the show did not succeed on its first run on NBC. The show is too accurate. 
Today, our television waves are too full of sensationalism (oh my! there's a bomb inside a body! or... oh my! there's a pike running thru a person, but they can still walk!), that any accurate television sends us into sleep mode. Well, FNL is here to combat this and finally present some critically acclaimed sports drama to network television. But unfortunately, not enough heard this call to duty. This show is heart wrenching. There are so many moments I can count that have made me reflect on my own time in a small town, and the people I met there. And beyond that, the characters you meet in FNL are by far some of the most relatable characters that when you get to see them grow, you feel like you've known them your whole life. Finally, this show (though now it just finished its series finale last night on DirecTV), has received the credit it deserves, though a bit late. It has been nominated for 8 Emmy's, finally winning 1 (for outstanding casting). But you know how award shows work, the viewers at home have to know the winner, and so this "little engine that could" was passed over for the big win numerous times in favor of more well-known shows. However, in 2010, Kyle Chandler (Coach Eric Taylor) and Connie Britton (Tami Taylor) finally (FINALLY!) got nominated for their work with an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress, respectively. Now, they didn't win, but the nomination was a lot of validation for these two actors who have by far created the most realistic marriage on screen. By far.
Now, I know, I know, you all must think that I am over-exaggerating this, but I assure you, I am not.
This is the best television show that no one saw.
You should rent/buy FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS on dvd if...
-you enjoy football or sports in general.
-you enjoy small town portrayals that are accurate.
-you enjoy really well-acted and well-crafted television.
-you want to see a marriage depicted actually realistically by some fine actors.
This is a show that hopefully will live on through dvd sales:
http://www.amazon.com/Friday-Night-Lights-First-Season/dp/B000RF1QE2
Terrific review. Despite its tremendous critical acclaim I was reluctant to watch having zero interest in Texas or American football. But came to appreciate this well-crafted raw emotional roller coaster ride I now consider one of the best series ever seen on network television. Dillon, Texas, I will miss you.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that such an amazing show didn't get the support to make it into a super star hit! I think from the show title to the time slot it was going to lose. I was one of the people that never would watch the show, and assumed it was going to be a teen drama that was like 90210 or something like that, but on ABC Family.
ReplyDeleteI finally bought the show on iTunes because they ranked it as one of the best dramas of the decade and I had seen every other drama on their list. After watching the first episode I was in love. It is one of the best written shows on tv! It is going to go down in the history books of how not to launch and program a tv show, unless you want it to fail.