InstagramJason Street is wearing Crocs! Saracen is looking damn good! Those are just some of the observations we had when we laid eyes on the Friday Night Lights reunion photo that Scott Porter posted over the weekend. But those observations came after we gently pressed our palm to the computer screen and whispered "Texas forever."
In the photo, Porter is all smiles with former Friday Night Lights costars Matt Lauria (Luke), Gaius Charles (Smash), Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen), and Kevin Rankin (Herc). It brought up all kinds of warm, wonderful feelings and made us sorely miss the NBC drama that gave us things like Coach and Mrs. Coach (Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton), the best sports catchphrase ever and Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch).
This photo inspired us to check in with the Dillon folks in the Instagram pic and catch up with their post-FNL careers:
Scott Porter: Jason Street is now a series regular on the CW dramedy series Hart of Dixie, starring Rachel Bilson. He was also in this summer's raunchy comedy The To Do List, playing the lifeguard Aubrey Plaza lusted after. That film was also a mini FNL reunion, as Britton appeared as Plaza's mom.
Zach Gilford: Poor Saracen. First he was robbed of an Emmy nomination after his performance in season four's "The Son," and then he has back-to-back failed TV series: ABC's Off the Map and Fox's The Mob Doctor. He's appeared in a string of films in 2013 such as Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Last Stand and Virginia Madsen's Crazy Kind of Love. Next up is a starring role in the horror flick Devil's Due out in January 2014.
Matt Lauria: After Friday Night Lights he starred in Fox's short-lived The Chicago Code and then popped up in some procedurals, like CSI and Person of Interest. Sweet, sweet Luke can now be found on NBC's drama Parenthood as Amber's (Mae Whitman) fiancé, Ryan.
Gaius Charles: Good ol' Smash. He's been on the small scream steadily since FNL, appearing in Pan Am, NCIS and Necessary Roughness before landing a recurring gig on ABC's Grey's Anatomy. Film-wise, you might have caught him in the Angelina Jolie thriller Salt and the heist flick Takers starring Matt Dillon, Idris Elba and Paul Walker.
Kevin Rankin: No big deal, but he appeared on Breaking Bad, aka one of the best TV shows of all time, as Kenny, a member of Uncle Jack's white supremacist group. That gang also happened to include Jesse Plemmons, or Landry, as FNL fans know him best. (Side note: Did anyone else scream out "Landry, WTFf?!" during all his evil deeds?) Rankin will also appear in the much buzzed-about Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey and 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Among his other list of credits post-FNL: Big Love, Justified, White House Down and Unforgettable.
Taylor Kitsch: He exists and he is beautiful. We know he's not in the Instagram photo, but it just needed to be said and that's all you need to know.
Doesn't that photo make your heart swell five sizes too big? One for every season of Friday Night Lights. Let's talk about it in the comments, shall we?