Friday Night Lights Renewed for 2nd Season
05-10-07, 05:07 PM
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05-10-07, 05:34 PM
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Originally Posted by esc24
hell yeah, hopefully they make it through the season and don't get cut short.
Great news, but yeah, I hope NBC doesn't Boomtown FNL.
05-10-07, 05:56 PM
#5
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You just made my day, gjamesm!
Wow--I knew there was a chance, but I really didn't have my hopes up. Here's hoping they find a way to get it an audience...different night or something...it's certainly one of the best shows on TV right now.
Wow--I knew there was a chance, but I really didn't have my hopes up. Here's hoping they find a way to get it an audience...different night or something...it's certainly one of the best shows on TV right now.
05-10-07, 06:13 PM
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Best news of the day!! More Lyla and Mrs. Coach 
Now the key is finding a good night for it.
Now the key is finding a good night for it.
05-10-07, 08:07 PM
#9
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There was a lot of talk here in Austin if the crew would stay or move do a different location. I happy to have them staying.
By Diane Holloway
AMERICAN-STATESMAN TELEVISION WRITER
Friday, May 11, 2007
No big surprise, but a huge relief for local fans: NBC has renewed the low-rated but highly acclaimed drama series "Friday Night Lights" for a second season.
And the production will stay in Austin, where it nestled comfortably for months.
"Austin is clearly built into the creative fabric of the show," said Sarah Aubrey, executive producer and native Austinite. "This is where we all want to be."
On Thursday, NBC ordered a full season, 22 episodes of the show, giving a slightly early seal of approval. NBC will unveil its fall lineup to advertisers Monday in New York.
"The deciding factor, as I understand it, is that everyone at NBC loved the show, and they really believe there is a larger audience out there for it," Aubrey said. "We just have to figure out a way to sell it."
NBC will rerun the first season this summer, and a DVD of those episodes will be released before the new season begins in September.
"Friday Night Lights," based on the book by H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger and the film by director Peter Berg, premiered last fall to glowing reviews. But it never caught fire with viewers, not even in Austin, where cast and crew were frequently seen filming and just hanging out around town.
In its original 7 p.m. time period on Tuesdays, and also after moving to Wednesdays, the show was third or fourth in the ratings in its time period, attracting about 6 million viewers per episode. By comparison, top-rated "American Idol" routinely brings in 27 million to 28 million viewers each week.
To save money and increase its chances for renewal, "Friday Night Lights" flirted with moving its home base to New Mexico, Louisiana or another state willing to offer financial incentives. Texas does not offer money for film or television incentives, but Gov. Rick Perry has proposed a $20 million economic incentive package to help lure productions to the state. The bill (House Bill 1634) is pending in a committee of the Texas Senate.
Gary Bond, director of the Austin Film Commission, has estimated that "Lights" infuses the local economy with about $1.5 million per episode. Over the course of the season, that amounts to more than $25 million and includes local salaries, housing rentals, set constructions, catering and myriad goods and services a production demands.
The City of Austin already has stepped up to the plate, authorizing an economic development payment of $40,000 for the first season and $45,000 for the upcoming second season. Money is available for the just-ended season; the season payment is contingent on approval of next year's budget.
"It's excellent news that 'Friday Night Lights' is staying," Bond said. "There's a synergy with these things, and I'm sure this will help bring other productions to Austin. The city is to be commended for stepping up to the plate the way few other cities do. I hope the show finds its audience next season. We'd like for them to be here 10 or 15 more seasons."
NBC has not said what night or time "Lights" will air when it returns, but Aubrey and others with the show would prefer to be on later than 7 p.m., when reality shows such as "Dancing with the Stars" pack a bigger wallop than thoughtful dramas.
The low ratings are partly due to misconception, producers say. Apparently some viewers — especially women — thought "Lights" was just about high school football and stayed away. The series focuses on Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his wife Tami (Connie Britton), their daughter Julie (Aimee Teagarden), her friends and the and her friends and the friendships and feuds among the Dillon Panthers.
The drama is as much about small-town life, family and friendship as it is about football, and it's not going to change.
"We're never going to change the essence of the show just to be broader and obviously more appealing," Aubrey said. "Fundamentally the challenge is to let women know they really should be watching this show."
By Diane Holloway
AMERICAN-STATESMAN TELEVISION WRITER
Friday, May 11, 2007
No big surprise, but a huge relief for local fans: NBC has renewed the low-rated but highly acclaimed drama series "Friday Night Lights" for a second season.
And the production will stay in Austin, where it nestled comfortably for months.
"Austin is clearly built into the creative fabric of the show," said Sarah Aubrey, executive producer and native Austinite. "This is where we all want to be."
On Thursday, NBC ordered a full season, 22 episodes of the show, giving a slightly early seal of approval. NBC will unveil its fall lineup to advertisers Monday in New York.
"The deciding factor, as I understand it, is that everyone at NBC loved the show, and they really believe there is a larger audience out there for it," Aubrey said. "We just have to figure out a way to sell it."
NBC will rerun the first season this summer, and a DVD of those episodes will be released before the new season begins in September.
"Friday Night Lights," based on the book by H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger and the film by director Peter Berg, premiered last fall to glowing reviews. But it never caught fire with viewers, not even in Austin, where cast and crew were frequently seen filming and just hanging out around town.
In its original 7 p.m. time period on Tuesdays, and also after moving to Wednesdays, the show was third or fourth in the ratings in its time period, attracting about 6 million viewers per episode. By comparison, top-rated "American Idol" routinely brings in 27 million to 28 million viewers each week.
To save money and increase its chances for renewal, "Friday Night Lights" flirted with moving its home base to New Mexico, Louisiana or another state willing to offer financial incentives. Texas does not offer money for film or television incentives, but Gov. Rick Perry has proposed a $20 million economic incentive package to help lure productions to the state. The bill (House Bill 1634) is pending in a committee of the Texas Senate.
Gary Bond, director of the Austin Film Commission, has estimated that "Lights" infuses the local economy with about $1.5 million per episode. Over the course of the season, that amounts to more than $25 million and includes local salaries, housing rentals, set constructions, catering and myriad goods and services a production demands.
The City of Austin already has stepped up to the plate, authorizing an economic development payment of $40,000 for the first season and $45,000 for the upcoming second season. Money is available for the just-ended season; the season payment is contingent on approval of next year's budget.
"It's excellent news that 'Friday Night Lights' is staying," Bond said. "There's a synergy with these things, and I'm sure this will help bring other productions to Austin. The city is to be commended for stepping up to the plate the way few other cities do. I hope the show finds its audience next season. We'd like for them to be here 10 or 15 more seasons."
NBC has not said what night or time "Lights" will air when it returns, but Aubrey and others with the show would prefer to be on later than 7 p.m., when reality shows such as "Dancing with the Stars" pack a bigger wallop than thoughtful dramas.
The low ratings are partly due to misconception, producers say. Apparently some viewers — especially women — thought "Lights" was just about high school football and stayed away. The series focuses on Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his wife Tami (Connie Britton), their daughter Julie (Aimee Teagarden), her friends and the and her friends and the friendships and feuds among the Dillon Panthers.
The drama is as much about small-town life, family and friendship as it is about football, and it's not going to change.
"We're never going to change the essence of the show just to be broader and obviously more appealing," Aubrey said. "Fundamentally the challenge is to let women know they really should be watching this show."
05-10-07, 08:27 PM
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While I don't watch, I'm happy to see somebody getting good news. I'm pretty shocked, though. At the start of the season, the prospects for this show seemed bleaker than for Studio 60.
05-11-07, 01:41 AM
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Great news! Funny how this leaks the same night two cast members from the show appeared on Grey's Anatomy.
My only wish is that the writers knew ahead of time they'd be picked up for another year. I'll bet good money the Panthers never would've won state if that was the case.
Please Universal, release Season 1 day-and-date on HD-DVD this fall.
My only wish is that the writers knew ahead of time they'd be picked up for another year. I'll bet good money the Panthers never would've won state if that was the case.
Please Universal, release Season 1 day-and-date on HD-DVD this fall.
05-11-07, 10:47 PM
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070511/en_nm/nbc_dc_1
Might as well stick this in here, until someone posts the official network lineups next week.
Chris
NBC enlists "Bionic Woman" to help rescue ratings
By Steve Gorman
Fri May 11, 6:48 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBC, hoping to rescue its ratings from a three-year slump, is enlisting a bionic woman, a time traveler and a computer nerd named Chuck to help finish the job started by the superhuman stars of its biggest new hit, "Heroes."
The General Electric Co.-controlled broadcaster plans to order five new dramas for the prime-time schedule it will unveil officially to advertisers on Monday, a network insider told Reuters on Friday.
NBC is the first of the major networks slated to showcase their wares next week for the 2007-08 broadcast season, kicking off the annual "upfront" advertising market in which some $9 billion in commercial time will likely be booked in advance.
New shows will include several with sci-fi themes -- a remake of the 1970s series "The Bionic Woman," a drama called "Journeyman" about a time-traveling journalist, and "Chuck," about a young computer whiz who becomes a government agent after espionage secrets are downloaded into his brain.
NBC also has ordered a second season of its critically praised but low-rated teen football drama, "Friday Night Lights," which won the prestigious Peabody Award last month.
The renewal of "Lights," along with the acclaimed TV satire "30 Rock," keeps with NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly's recent mantra, coined by predecessor Grant Tinker, about giving worthy shows a chance to grow -- "be best, then be first."
But the fate of several NBC veteran programs remains uncertain, including Donald Trump's boardroom reality show "The Apprentice," hospital comedy "Scrubs," long-running legal drama "Law & Order" and its spinoff, "Criminal Intent."
The outlook is more doubtful for "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," a much-ballyhooed show within a show from "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin. The struggling drama is widely expected to be dumped after wrapping its first season in June.
DESPERATE FOR HITS
NBC, which has come under scrutiny from GE investors for its lackluster performance, is desperate for new hits.
The network has languished in a ratings rut since longtime comedy favorites "Friends" and "Frasier" ended their runs three years ago, and it trails in fourth place behind Fox, CBS and ABC in the Nielsen rankings.
Indeed, NBC is expected to finish the season with its lowest marks ever in the ratings race it once dominated for the viewers most coveted by advertisers, those aged 18 to 49.
NBC got off to a promising start last fall with its new "Sunday Night Football" telecasts and the launch of "Heroes," a drama about a group of ordinary people who gain extraordinary powers. But the network hit the skids as the football season ended and every new NBC drama but "Heroes" failed to win fans.
"Heroes" lost momentum, too, after going off the schedule for a six-week hiatus, although it remains the No. 1 new series of the season among all networks. NBC's hit game show "Deal or No Deal" likewise has waned in the ratings.
In addition to "The Bionic Woman," "Journeyman" and "Chuck," NBC is expected to pick up a new drama, "Life," about a wrongly imprisoned police officer returning to the force after his release.
A fifth new drama that may emerge on NBC's schedule is "The Lipstick Jungle," based on a best-selling book by "Sex and the City" writer Candace Bushnell following the lives of three professional women, one of them played by Brooke Shields.
By Steve Gorman
Fri May 11, 6:48 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBC, hoping to rescue its ratings from a three-year slump, is enlisting a bionic woman, a time traveler and a computer nerd named Chuck to help finish the job started by the superhuman stars of its biggest new hit, "Heroes."
The General Electric Co.-controlled broadcaster plans to order five new dramas for the prime-time schedule it will unveil officially to advertisers on Monday, a network insider told Reuters on Friday.
NBC is the first of the major networks slated to showcase their wares next week for the 2007-08 broadcast season, kicking off the annual "upfront" advertising market in which some $9 billion in commercial time will likely be booked in advance.
New shows will include several with sci-fi themes -- a remake of the 1970s series "The Bionic Woman," a drama called "Journeyman" about a time-traveling journalist, and "Chuck," about a young computer whiz who becomes a government agent after espionage secrets are downloaded into his brain.
NBC also has ordered a second season of its critically praised but low-rated teen football drama, "Friday Night Lights," which won the prestigious Peabody Award last month.
The renewal of "Lights," along with the acclaimed TV satire "30 Rock," keeps with NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly's recent mantra, coined by predecessor Grant Tinker, about giving worthy shows a chance to grow -- "be best, then be first."
But the fate of several NBC veteran programs remains uncertain, including Donald Trump's boardroom reality show "The Apprentice," hospital comedy "Scrubs," long-running legal drama "Law & Order" and its spinoff, "Criminal Intent."
The outlook is more doubtful for "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," a much-ballyhooed show within a show from "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin. The struggling drama is widely expected to be dumped after wrapping its first season in June.
DESPERATE FOR HITS
NBC, which has come under scrutiny from GE investors for its lackluster performance, is desperate for new hits.
The network has languished in a ratings rut since longtime comedy favorites "Friends" and "Frasier" ended their runs three years ago, and it trails in fourth place behind Fox, CBS and ABC in the Nielsen rankings.
Indeed, NBC is expected to finish the season with its lowest marks ever in the ratings race it once dominated for the viewers most coveted by advertisers, those aged 18 to 49.
NBC got off to a promising start last fall with its new "Sunday Night Football" telecasts and the launch of "Heroes," a drama about a group of ordinary people who gain extraordinary powers. But the network hit the skids as the football season ended and every new NBC drama but "Heroes" failed to win fans.
"Heroes" lost momentum, too, after going off the schedule for a six-week hiatus, although it remains the No. 1 new series of the season among all networks. NBC's hit game show "Deal or No Deal" likewise has waned in the ratings.
In addition to "The Bionic Woman," "Journeyman" and "Chuck," NBC is expected to pick up a new drama, "Life," about a wrongly imprisoned police officer returning to the force after his release.
A fifth new drama that may emerge on NBC's schedule is "The Lipstick Jungle," based on a best-selling book by "Sex and the City" writer Candace Bushnell following the lives of three professional women, one of them played by Brooke Shields.
Might as well stick this in here, until someone posts the official network lineups next week.
Chris
05-12-07, 12:15 AM
#19
Wow, that's a lot of fantasy/sci-fi pilots! Of course it'll end up being like the seasons following Lost's first season - tons of pilots in the same vein as Heroes, but 90% will suck. But hopefully there are some good ones. We need more good "make-believe" shows on TV. I grew sick of cop, doctor, and lawyer dramas a few years ago.
05-12-07, 09:37 AM
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I'm hoping they get DVDs out in time for new fans to watch them and then catch the season premiere in the fall... I love this show and am pretty happy NBC had the good sense to keep it around.
05-13-07, 04:33 PM
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DVD Talk Limited Edition
According to some rumored schedules I saw today, FNL won't be coming back until midseason. Of course, nothing will be official until NBC has their upfront tomorrow.