Friday Night Lights premiered 20 years ago this week, marking the arrival of some of the most deeply emotional and intimate storytelling to ever air on broadcast television. Recently coming in at No. 14 on the New York Times list of the best shows of the 21st Century, it was a true marvel that never set the ratings world on fire. In fact, they were so dire that NBC struck an unprecedented agreement with DirecTV that let them share the cost of producing the show. And thank god, because after a semi-disastrous second season the deal allowed the show to rebuild itself into something even stronger.
Below are my top 10 episodes. And yes, you’ll notice none from the WGA strike-affected second season are present. But there was still plenty to choose from. Remember: Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.
10. “Tomorrow Blues” (Season 3, Episode 13)
No matter what ups and downs occurred thematically over the course of a season – including subplots that vanished without resolution – Friday Night Lights knew how to pull everything together for a finale. Picking up months after a narrow defeat in the state championship, Eric (Kyle Chandler) and Tami (Connie Britton) find their kingdom in ruins. Rich asshole Joe McCoy (played to perfection by D.W. Moffett) has positioned himself as the de facto head of the Dillon Panthers, bringing in his own coach (Drew Waters) to build a system around his spoiled son J.D. (Jeremy Sumpter). Eric’s righteous refusal to be a pawn exiles him to East Dillon High School, where the lack of funding, support, and talent will be the driver of Season 4.
Oh, but we’re not done! The show also marks the joyful and tacky wedding of Billy (Derek Phillips) and Mindy (Stacey Orisonto), bringing closure for Tim (Taylor Kitsch) and Lyla (Minka Kelly). But not every couple could let go so easily.
9. “Black Eyes and Broken Hearts” (Season 1, Episode 16)
Some people in Texas love to tell you that racism isn’t a problem. Or it wasn’t until “people started focusing on it” and now “everything is about race.” But of course those people are morons with their own agendas. After Coach Mac McGill (Blue Deckert) compares Dillon’s Black players to “junkyard dogs” and refuses to apologize, star wide receiver Smash Williams (Gaius Charles) stages a walkout. It’s not only a racial struggle and a labor struggle, but also gives Smash a chance to aim his passion at an issue bigger than his playing career. That the episode gives a strong thematic resolution without giving the impression everything will be hunky dory going forward reiterates how strong the writing was.
8. “Thanksgiving” (Season 4, Episode 13)
It’s Thanksgiving in Dillon and no one is happy. Tami is still dealing with the fallout of offering ethically sound but legally questionable advice to a student. The Lions are limping toward the end of a horrendous season. Matt (Zach Gilford) is back in town, but neither Julie (Aimee Teegarden) nor Landry (Jesse Plemons) are thrilled after he’s been radio silent for months.
But while this show could be realistic and even grim sometimes, it always remained hopeful that things could turn around. And in one of the show’s most thrilling football games, it all comes down to a last-second play in the East Dillon vs. West Dillon matchup, a real hold-your-breath moment. It’s riveting stuff.
7. “I Think We Should Have Sex” (Season 1, Episode 17)
Characters losing their virginities is well-worn ground for teen soaps. But Friday Night Lights stopped for a minute and asked: What if they both decided to wait? This wasn’t prudishness. Matt and Julie eventually did have sex, broke up and got back together numerous times, and one day planned to get married. But for one night there was no heartbreak, no pressure, no disappointment. Just two kids becoming more mature. They’re much smarter than Buddy Garrity (Brad Leland) and Angela Collette (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), whose affair is revealed in this episode, with plenty of wreckage to follow.
6. “I Can’t” (Season 4, Episode 10)
While Friday Night Lights had thrilling last-minute scores, soul-stirring reconciliation scenes, and occasionally some laugh-out-loud moments, the show was never afraid to be real. And sometimes it was depressingly so. One night, Luke (Matt Lauria) and Becky (Dora Madison Burge) have a chance encounter. What started as a moment of comfort between two characters who felt they had nowhere else to turn becomes a monumental challenge.
Becky’s pregnant, and with a selfish and mostly absent mother (Alicia Witt), she turns to Tami for advice. All Tami does is listen to a scared kid and tell her all her options. But this being Texas, even saying that abortion is an option threatens her safety and her job. This episode serves as a reminder that Texas can be both the best place and the worst.
