NBC/Van Redin Gimme a P.
Gimme an A.
Gimme a P-A-S-S to Friday Night Lights on my DVR for this fall!
And while you're at it, why doncha gimme a little P-A-N-T-H-E-R-S L-O-V-E, too?
'Cause we have good reason to celebrate: I just met up with the entire cast of FNL at an event at the Museum of Television and Radio and can tell you they are chock-full of confidence that the show will return next fall.
"Absolutely," coach Kyle Chandler said, when asked about the prospects of a second season. "I have no doubt."
"We are coming back, because it is the greatest TV show on television!" Scott Porter (Jason) interjected, sporting his Panther pride.
And Jesse Plemons seconded that emotion, adding, "We’re all so proud of it, and everyone who watches the show absolutely falls in love with these characters and the story. You gotta stay positive and think that it’s gonna come back."
The cast has good reason for positive thinking. They'd just received word that NBC ordered six more scripts of Friday Night Lights for next season. And while that's not a full, 22-episode season yet, it's obviously a step in the right direction. "The script order is a show of goodwill from the studio saying that they are still really interested in the show, and they want to see what the breaking stories look like," Scott explained. "And hopefully, they bring us back. We wanna be around for a very long time."
The best news? Sources tell me higher-ups at NBC feel the same.
The other interesting little tidbit I learned on Friday Night is that the cast is just about the most down-home, non-Hollywood cast you'll ever meet, most likely because so many of the actors are newbies and also because they shoot in Texas. (A pleasant experience for all, it seems, except, perhaps, Connie Britton, who told me she's afraid of cows—yes, cows!—and apparently ran away from one in a scene she shot with Kyle Chandler. You gotta love that.)
As for the number one Q every Friday Night Lights fan wants to know—which way the core relationships are headed—well, the scripts aren't written yet, sillies! Still, a couple of castmembers made predictions. Aimee Teegarden said she thinks Matt and Julie's "very sweet" courtship will continue, proving "you don’t have to engage in intercourse or getting drunk all the time to have a nice, meaningful relationship." As for Lyla and Jason, Scott said: "They share a much deeper love than they can even realize right now as high school kids. They don’t really know, but I think they will be friends for life."
Whatever happens, here's hoping we get to see it.
—Additional reporting by Jennifer Godwin