3 Reasons It’s Finally Time to Binge ‘Friday Night Lights’

Friday Night Lights - Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler
Virginia Sherwood / © NBC / Courtesy: Everett Collection

Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose! Indeed, this inspiring 2006–11 series, Friday Night Lights, set in Dillon, Texas, a town where everyone lives and breathes high school football, is a winner. Here’s why we love the show, now streaming.

1. It’s more than just “a football show.”

The games are beautifully shot and the emotional stakes are high, but what makes Lights special are the relatable, flawed — and OK, very good-looking — characters. Two of our favorites: dedicated coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his wife Tami (Connie Britton).

2. The Taylors’ complex marriage.

Theirs is a partnership of equals, matched in brains, beauty and ethics. Of course, the
two fight, but theirs is a true love and real friendship that bends but never breaks.\

Friday Night Lights Kyle Chandler

(Credit: Bill Records / © NBC / courtesy everett collection)

3. The excellent supporting cast.

Lights had a knack for recognizing top-notch talent early in their careers. Among them: Matt Lauria (Kingdom), Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther), and future Emmy nominees Jesse Plemons (Fargo) and Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country).

Friday Night Lights, Streaming now, Netflix