Friday Night Lights was a show that followed the Taylor marriage (Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton) and their daughter (Aimee Teagarden) as they moved to the fictional town of Dillon, Texas, for Mr. Taylor to become the high school football team coach. The show had football, but it was about a lot more. It was about family, community, and growing up in a small town. It had heart, real people with real problems, and yeah, also some good football. FNL could make you cry, laugh, and make you feel like a real fan celebrating the team’s victories (even if they were always the miraculous last-second play of the game).
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The show was the brainchild of Peter Berg, who after doing a movie based on the book (with Billy Bob Thornton as the lead), and thought there was a lot more meat from the book that they weren’t able to put in the original film, and wanted more. He was right. Berg directed one of the best pilots ever, while creating a unique style. They always shot with small cameras, in real locations, without rehearsals, and improvising was encouraged if it felt truthful to the character.
It also had one of the best young casts ever. Here’s where the most successful cast members are today:
Kyle Chandler
NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Coach Taylor was one-half of one of the best marriages on television. He always tried to help his players and the community with his decency, empathy, and love.
Since FNL ended, Kyle Chandler has appeared everywhere. Be it as the concerned parent (Super 8 and Godzilla: King of the Monsters), the authority figure (The Wolf of Wall Street), or against type as the messed up brother (Game Night). But for us, he’ll always be Coach Taylor, the role of a lifetime that got him an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Connie Britton
Tami, the other half of the Taylor’s marriage, was smart, opinionated, and loyal. She loved her family but knew what she wanted and fought for it. That’s why at the end of the show, it is her dream they follow. Her conversation with her daughter about sex still resonates all these years later. After FNL, Connie Britton was the star of Nashville, had supernatural troubles in American Horror Story, and played a 9-1-1 operator. She also appeared as a white-privileged woman and part of a crazy family in The White Lotus.
Jesse Plemons
As Landry Clark, Jesse Plemons was mostly the comic relief, friend, and sounding board for Matt Saracen. Every season he got meatier scenes and even had his underdog football moment as the punter for the Lions. Back then, not many would’ve bet that Plemons would be this cast’s first person to be nominated for an Academy Award, or work with directors like Paul Thomas Anderson, Jane Campion, and Charlie Kaufman. He’s also been confirmed to be the lead of the next Martin Scorsese movie. Always with interesting choices and not afraid of any type of roles, Plemons is one of the more-demanded actors of the last few years.
Michael B. Jordan
Vince Howard was the star of the Lions, and was the focus of the last two seasons. He became the heart of the show and his surrogate father-son relationship with coach Taylor was one for the ages. People had already met Michael B. Jordan on The Wire, but this show reminded everyone what an incredible, vulnerable presence he could be. Since then, he has become a movie star. He showed his acting chops in Fruitvale Station, his movie star charisma in the Creed trilogy, and was one of the best Marvel villains in Black Panther. Next year, he’ll make his directorial debut in Creed III.
Jurnee Smollett
Her character in FNL, Jess Merriweather, loved football. She also took care of her brothers, dated Vince, and tried to be part of the team. After two seasons, she discovered what she really wanted; to be a football coach. Jurnee Smollet had been working as a kid actor before FNL. Since then, her star has shined brighter and brighter after lead roles in Underground and Lovecraft Country. She was part of the team as Black Canary in Birds of Prey, and now has her own superhero movie in the works.
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Taylor Kitsch
Tim Riggins was the tortured soul of FNL. He was someone who didn’t have many things other than his brother and football. His evolution from drunk jock to responsible adult, who took the fall for his brother, so his niece could have the father they never had, is still heartbreaking. Taylor Kitsch’s magnetism made Hollywood try to transform him into a movie star, but the big tent pole movies he was in, didn’t melt with his reserved charisma. Since then, he has become a TV lead in shows like True Detective, Waco, and The Defeated. His next role will be in the miniseries, Painkiller.
Minka Kelly
In the FNL pilot, Lyla Garrity looked like the perfect student, girlfriend, and head cheerleader. Everything changed after the events of that episode. She evolved and changed a lot on the show, becoming a better person and character. Since FNL, Minka Kelly has been a TV stalwart. She was one of the angels in the Charlie’s Angels reboot; a detective in Almost Human, and the superhero Dove in Titans. This year we have seen her in Euphoria as an older friend to the character of Maddy.
Adrianne Palicki
Tyra Collette was one of the characters with better arcs in the show. She started as someone without any aspirations to leave Dillon, and thanks in part to the tutelage of Tami Taylor, she saw a new future for herself; a better one. Adrianne Palicki has had a lot of action roles after FNL. She was in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, John Wick, and she even was Wonder Woman in a failed TV pilot. She ended up being another comic character in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where she played Bobbi Morse, and even had a planned spinoff that didn’t go through. Right now, you can see her in The Orville.
Zach Gilford
Matt Saracen was the character with whom you could identify most. He didn’t have that much talent, but worked very hard to be a good football player. The events in the pilot and coach Taylor’s teachings changed his life. His home situation wasn’t the best, but any scene with Saracen and his grandma could melt your heart. Zach Gilford has been in many shows, like Midnight Mass and The Mob Doctor. After appearing in Midnight Mass, he has become part of the Mike Flanagan universe. He’ll be on his next two shows: The Midnight Club andThe Fall of the House of Usher, which is currently filming.