NBC is not cancelling Friday Night Lights, as many fans had been fearing. It appears that the partnership with DirecTV, which has the show premiering on the satellite service first and costs shared by both parties, has made the show fiscally possible. Probably not all that profitable, but along with the tax incentives of shooting in Austin the show has garnered enough attention to warrant a purchase of two more seasons.
Technically the order is for just a little over a normal single season at 26 episodes, but they’ll be split into two 13 episode seasons. Similar to the way ABC stretched Lost out a little more, only this time it’s being done to help justify costs while still giving fans more of the show they love. We have no idea whether the new partnership with DirecTV will allow the series to live on after this. But now that the show will hit the syndication marker of 76 episodes you can expect to see a lot more of Friday Night Lights floating around the TV landscape.
Angela Bromstad, president of scripted programming at NBC, stated, “it was important to keep this beloved, quality show alive because, while we need a bigger and broader audience, it's hopefully an indication of the type of shows we want to do at NBC." With this kind of attitude NBC could bounce back in the coming seasons.
