Media Life Magazine - 'Friday Night Lights' shine, despite it all

Homepage

Alternative media

Cable

Classifieds

Magazines

Media economy

New media

Newspapers

Out of Home

People

Rachel speaks

Radio

Research

Television

TV Reviews

Webinars

Media Economy Newsletter

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Last week

Yearly Archives

About us

Subscribe

Advertise

Contact us

Write to the editor

Press releases

Post a classified

'Friday Night Lights'
shine, despite it all

The NBC show heads into its fourth season finale

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Feb 10, 2010

Share |

Say what you will about NBC's ratings decline the past few years, but the network has stubbornly nurtured some of the best shows on television despite their low ratings.

It kept "The Office" on the air until viewers started catching up with critics, and it let "30 Rock" simmer for two terribly rated years before the show finally found enough of an audience to stop worrying about renewal.

NBC had to get more creative in order to keep airing "Friday Night Lights," which airs its fourth-season finale tonight at 9 p.m. on DirecTV.

Since last season, DirecTV and NBC have split the costs of producing the show, airing it first on the satellite TV provider's 101 Network, then on NBC. It still draws low ratings, but neither company is shouldering the burden of producing the entire show, which makes those low ratings more palatable.

That has allowed "Lights" to survive despite averaging just a 1.3 adults 18-49 rating last season. In fact, the drama about a Texas high school football team, based on the book and movie of the same name, has already been renewed for a 13-episode season five.

It most likely owes its existence to the passionate support of TV critics, who rallied around the show in its first two seasons, extolling its smart writing and excellent acting of leads Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton.

Still, in one of those TV land oddities, the show has been largely ignored by Emmy voters, who helped keep "30 Rock" alive by bestowing trophy after trophy upon it in its first three years.

In tonight's finale, it's Thanksgiving in East Dillon, and there's heartbreak on the horizon for someone associated with the team.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	A Big East rivalry game between Connecticut and Syracuse.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Charlie Brown Valentine” (A, K)	Charlie Brown chases the little red-haired girl and Sally goes for Linus.
9 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	More performances from the Hollywood round.
9 p.m.	CBS	“Criminal Minds” (D)	A killer tries to cause fear by killing his victims in public places.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Modern Family” (C)	Phil and Claire try to heat things up, and Jay and Gloria go to a comedy show for Valentine’s Day.
9 p.m.	DirecTV	“Friday Night Lights” (D)	Season finale. Through the magic of television, it's Thanksgiving in East Dillon.
10 p.m.	FX	“Nip/Tuck” (D)	Sean and Christian begin psychotherapy together.
10 p.m.	MTV	“The Real World” (R)	Erika and Ashley get into it and another roommate considers leaving the house.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	Disney star Selena Gomez performs.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Survivor” (R)	Season premiere. The series rolls out a “Heroes vs. Villains” version for its 20th edition.
8 p.m.	CW	“The Vampire Diaries” (D)	Jeremy and Anna meet to go to a party, but Anna has a specific reason for going.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Grey’s Anatomy” (D)	A restaurant’s roof collapses on Valentine’s Day.
9 p.m.	NBC	“The Office” (C)	Either Michael or Jim must step down as manager and return to being a salesman.
10 p.m.	Lifetime	“Project Runway” (R)	The designers compete to have their creation featured on the cover of a fashion magazine.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Singer Michael Buble performs.
7:30 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Coverage of the opening ceremony, along with ski jumping.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Spider-Man 2.1” (M)	DVD version of the sequel, with eight additional minutes.
8 p.m.	Nickelodeon	“iCarly” (K)	Carly feels indebted to Freddie after he saves her life.
9 p.m.	TNT	“NBA Basketball” (S)	The 11th annual Rookie Challenge between the NBA’s best first-year and second-year players.
9 p.m.	VH1	“Famous Crime Scene” (N)	Series premiere. Investigating the 1996 shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13
Time	Network	Program	Description
2 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Today it’s speed skating, ski jumping and biathlon.
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Third round coverage of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	Five cops in Florida go undercover to catch drug dealers.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Tonight it’s more speed skating and freestyle and alpine skiing.
9 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	A big SEC conference game between Tennessee and Kentucky.
8:30 p.m.	TNT	“NBA All-Star Saturday Night” (S)	A variety events, including a skills challenge, a three-point shootout and a slam dunk contest.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Time	Network	Program	Description
Noon	Fox	“NASCAR Racing” (S)	The 52nd running of the Daytona 500.
1 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	This afternoon we have more speed skating, skiing, biathlon and luge.
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Final round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, founded by Bing Crosby in 1937.
7 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Tonight figure skating makes its debut.
8:30 p.m.	TNT	“NBA Basketball” (S)	The 59th annual All-Star game, from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
9 p.m.	Fox	“Family Guy” (C)	Chris and Stewie get lost in the woods, and later Chris develops a crush on a girl at school.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.