Austin transformed into a town with a team and a dream once again on Friday, May 29, with the 20th anniversary of Friday Night Lights at the ATX TV Festival. The festival, which launched when Friday Night Lights concluded in 2011, paid tribute to the show by reuniting actors Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Jessie Plemons, Adrianne Palicki, Scott Porter, Gaius Charles, Aimee Teegarden, Louanne Stephens and Brad Leland, as well as showrunners, for a homecoming party that brought Dillon, Texas back to Austin 20 years after the premiere of the Emmy winning series.
The panelists honored the show in a homecoming that reflected on what it was like making the show and hinted at what’s to come in the future. Here are some of the highlights.
One of two true movie stars to come out of Friday Night Lights (Michael B. Jordan was not present), Plemons, fresh off starring in Bugonia, opened the night by reuniting with co-star Stephanie Hunt, who together played in the band Crucifictorious on the show. Together they sang “Walking through a TV” and “Devil Town,” with Plemons flashing guitar and harmonica skills that show he’d have a career as a folk singer if acting hadn’t worked out.
Charles carried the heart of Friday Night Lights for three seasons as running back Brian “Smash” Williams, but he was left silent for most of the panel, stuck to the edge of the stage until the very end. The crowd made sure to demand a “Smash” callout, in which he praised his character’s NFL future, but fans deserved to hear more from one of the series’ most vocal roles.
The relationship between Chandler and Britton’s roles as Eric and Tami Taylor defined all five seasons of Friday Night Lights. They supported, bickered, fought and loved each other through all the struggles of the series and showed a genuine relationship without the fake drama of network TV. Back on stage 15 years after the show ended, the pair didn’t miss a beat. Britton teased Chandler for being less than Billy Bob Thornton, who starred in the Friday Night Lights movie, while the two of them chided each other about how exactly their first chemistry date went or where their characters ended up after the show ended. In short, they still talk like a married couple.
Britton and Palicki revealed that country star Dwight Yoakam was at one point considered for the role of head coach Eric Taylor. It’s unclear if Yoakam was ever actually offered the part, but Chandler seemed shocked by the news on stage.
Despite reports confirming a Friday Night Lights reboot was in the works with showrunner Jason Katims and NBC, the showrunner revealed that nothing concrete is in the works and that they’re not rushing into creating a new show.
“The idea of doing another incarnation of the show is something that’s much more a slower…it’s just a conversation,” Katims said. “The book that Buzz Bissinger wrote is one of the great works of longform journalism. The movie was unbelievable. So, we’re not going to do anything until the point that we feel like we do a show that’s going to be able to live up to that legacy.”