In its heyday, it was a cultural touchstone, transcending the main reason for which it was produced. The beloved high school football series, Friday Night Lights, helmed by Peter Berg, transcended the walls of football, and encapsulated other broader themes like family, friendship, and personal struggles. There had been much talk of an expansion of the universe it created but that never materialized. Very well, it’s better late than never and Friday Night Lights fans have Universal Television to thank as it has been announced that a reboot of the beloved football drama is in the works.
Even more exciting beyond the upcoming reboot is the announcement that this new iteration will bring back the drama’s original creators. The upcoming project remains in early development and has original creators, series showrunner Jason Katims, Berg and executive producer Brian Grazer, attached to work on the project. The reboot is currently in the market. The upcoming show is set in the world of high school, this suggests that the show’s original stars, Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Gaius Charles and Jesse Plemons, will most likely not return.
Friday Night Lights is a cinematic portrayal of the cult nature of football. Author H.G. Bissinger published a book titled “Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream,” in 1988. The small town of Odessa, Texas was Bissinger’s focus as the fervor and pressures surrounding high school football were deeply explored. The book would later be adapted into a successful film in 2004 starring Billy Bob Thornton as the legendary Gary Gaines. In October 2006, a five-season TV series of the same name premiered.
There Have Been Plans to Expand the ‘Friday Night Lights’ for Some Time
For a while, it was rumored that there existed plans for a Friday Night Lights movie—based on the series. However, despite vested interest from fans of the series, the project didn’t take off. Speaking to Collider‘s Christina Radish last year, while promoting his project Painkiller, Berg revealed the fate of the project at the time, saying, “We talked about it. Over the years, it’s come and gone. Writers have come in and pitched it. And there’s been a certain amount of excitement,” said Berg. “And then, I’ll think about it and I’ll call Kyle Chandler or Connie Britton, who I like so much, and we’ll be like, ‘Yeah, but why? It was a great relationship. We have nothing but great memories. Why take the chance of coming back, and then we end up hating each other and make a really bad movie?’ It’s tricky. It’s like going back to a relationship. It doesn’t always work.” Now, thankfully, it’s about to work out.
The proposed upcoming Friday Night Lights project does not have a release date yet.
via Collider