Friday Night Lights is getting the reboot treatment, and Deadline reports that Peacock has scooped up the project after a competitive bidding war with Netflix.
This new iteration 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.“
The franchise is based on the non-fiction novel Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger. Peter Berg directed a feature film based on the novel in 2004, which starred Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Derek Luke, Garrett Hedlund, Jay Hernandez, and more. Two years later, Berg developed the acclaimed TV series of the same name. Revolving around a high school football team in the fictional town of Dillion, the series was led by Kyle Chandler as Coach Eric Taylor and Connie Britton as his wife, Tami Taylor. The ensemble cast included many up-and-coming actors who have since gone on to bigger things, including Jesse Plemons, Taylor Kitsch, Michael B. Jordan, Adrianne Palicki, Jurnee Smollett, Zach Gilford, and more.
Peter Berg will serve as an executive producer on the Friday Night Lights reboot, alongside original showrunner Jason Katims and producer Brian Grazer.
If you’re hoping Coach Taylor might pop up in the reboot, I wouldn’t hold your breath. He’s slated to star in HBO’s upcoming Green Lantern series, Lanterns. He will be playing Hal Jordan alongside Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge), who will play John Stewart. The series is said to have a True Detective vibe as it “follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.“
Kelly MacDonald (Boardwalk Empire) will also star as Sheriff Kerry, a “no-nonsense woman deeply devoted to her family and close-knit town.” Garret Dillahunt has also joined the series in a recurring role. He will play William Macon, a modern cowboy who is described as “a self-righteous, conspiracy-minded man who masks his ruthless ambition behind a charming and calculated facade.” Poorna Jagannathan (The Night Of) will also appear as Zoe.
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