Friday Night Lights was one of the best TV shows to hit our screens for a long while. The show focused on the lives and problems of a high-school football team in the fictional town of Dillion in Texas, and explored the plots and characters with such depth that it won a number of awards and accolades.
Firstly, the way it was filmed was quite unique among TV dramas, and gave a realism that is rarely seen in series like this. The actors were allowed the freedom to change their lines if they thought they weren't true to their characters, and all the scenes were shot in one take whenever possible. The creators also used real places in Texas to film, rather than creating film sets, making the show even more realistic.
Another thing that made the show so realistic was the way it was filmed. Not only did it use authentic locations instead of film sets, the actors were also allowed some leeway with their lines and could change them if it didn't feel real. All the scenes were also filmed using a number of cameras to try and get the whole thing in one take, more like a documentary than a traditional series. All of this combined made the show truly unique and unmatched in its realism.
Finally, it is one of the very few TV series to be made off the back of a film and still be successful. Usually, adaptations and spin-offs never match up to the original, but Friday Night Lights was not only made off the back of a movie, but that movie was made off the back of a book and it still managed to do justice to, if not surpass the previous incarnations.
All in all, the show had a great critical reception but for some reason never got the ratings figures to match it. The show itself won a Peabody Award, a Humanitas Prize, and a Television Critics Association Award, and in 2011 was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Drama Series. It was a shame to lose the show from our screens, but sometimes great shows just aren't the ones that pull in the viewers.
Firstly, the way it was filmed was quite unique among TV dramas, and gave a realism that is rarely seen in series like this. The actors were allowed the freedom to change their lines if they thought they weren't true to their characters, and all the scenes were shot in one take whenever possible. The creators also used real places in Texas to film, rather than creating film sets, making the show even more realistic.
Another thing that made the show so realistic was the way it was filmed. Not only did it use authentic locations instead of film sets, the actors were also allowed some leeway with their lines and could change them if it didn't feel real. All the scenes were also filmed using a number of cameras to try and get the whole thing in one take, more like a documentary than a traditional series. All of this combined made the show truly unique and unmatched in its realism.
Finally, it is one of the very few TV series to be made off the back of a film and still be successful. Usually, adaptations and spin-offs never match up to the original, but Friday Night Lights was not only made off the back of a movie, but that movie was made off the back of a book and it still managed to do justice to, if not surpass the previous incarnations.
All in all, the show had a great critical reception but for some reason never got the ratings figures to match it. The show itself won a Peabody Award, a Humanitas Prize, and a Television Critics Association Award, and in 2011 was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Drama Series. It was a shame to lose the show from our screens, but sometimes great shows just aren't the ones that pull in the viewers.
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