Alright sports fans, get excited because a Friday Night Lights reboot is officially in the works. After hearing about potential FNL reboots for years, I'm hopeful this one will really get off the ground this time and be available to stream with a Peacock subscription. Honestly, I’m feeling great about its chances too, because it’s been confirmed that this new series is being worked on by the OG show’s showrunner, director and producer. However, there’s one original Friday Night Lights cast member I need to see added to this roster, and that guy is Taylor Kitsch.
Friday Night Lights Has Landed At Peacock With Its Original Creative Team
It would appear that Peacock is aiming for a touchdown with this new Friday Night Lights show. That’s because, according to Deadline, the drama's original showrunner Jason Katims, original director Peter Berg and the original producer Brian Grazer are all on board to executive produce the project.
They’ll be working with Kristen Zolner for Imagine Entertainment and Universal Television to make the show, which is also encouraging since the OG series aired on NBC back in the early 2000s.
While this is a tall order, seeing as Friday Night Lights is one of the best sports movies and shows, it seems like it’s in good hands. Plus, I’m here for the plot too, as the report revealed the following details about this reboot’s story:
The new series, which is now in development at Peacock, will be set following a devastating hurricane, when a rag tag high school football team and their damaged, interim coach make an unlikely bid for a Texas High School State Championship and become a beacon of light for their town.
So, it sounds like this reboot will tell a new story about a new team with a new coach. Seeing as the first season of the early 2000s series and the movie focuses on a team coming back from their star quarterback getting injured, it’s clear that this new story that begins with a devastating natural disaster will be quite different from its predecessors.
At the moment it’s unclear if it will feature all new characters, all returning characters or both. However, no matter what happens, I want Taylor Kitsch to be involved!
Now, I’m Hoping Taylor Kitsch Comes Back Too
When you look back at Taylor Kitsch’s best projects, two of them came from Peter Berg. First of all, his breakout role was Tim Riggins in Friday Night Lights. Then, almost two decades later, he worked with the director again on Netflix’s Painkiller.
I spoke to Berg when that Netflix series came out, and he told me he loved seeing Kitsch “shed the Tim Riggins legacy” with that true crime show. It truly did show off his range and growth as an actor, and it was great to see a project made by these two long-time collaborators.
Now, I’d like to see them come back together for this Friday Night Lights reboot.
Think about it, it’d be a great way to show off Kitsch’s range again, as they could cast him as this new coach – a character who could potentially be totally different from the the football player he portrayed all those years ago.
Or, if he returns as Tim Riggins, it’d give him the opportunity to play a grown-up version of his beloved character, and it’d offer a deep connection between the first series and this new one.
Either way, I think it’d be wonderful to see Taylor Kitsch back in the world of Texas football. Plus, considering his history with the show’s director, I think it’d be a natural fit to cast him in this reboot.
Overall, there’s a lot to be excited about with this Friday Night Lights show that’s being made for Peacock. Here’s hoping it really works out this time and that my dreams of Taylor Kitsch returning come true! Now, while we wait for more updates about this exciting new series, I’ll be going back to stream its NBC predecessor with a Netflix subscription.
