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2009 Fall Season
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Movies & Specials

46 The Prisoner
AMC, 11/15

73 Collision
PBS, 11/15

70 Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags
HBO, 10/19

84 Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)
IFC, 10/18

80 Occupation
BBC America, 10/18

Recent/Upcoming
Series Premieres

47 The Wanda Sykes Show
Fox, Saturday

67 V
ABC, Tuesday

54 The League
FX, Thursday

81 Friday Night Lights Season Four
DirecTV 101, Wednesday

77 Endgame
PBS, Sunday

78 White Collar
USA, Friday

20 The Jeff Dunham Show
Comedy Central, Thursday

47 Lock 'n Load
Showtime, Wednesday

74 30 Rock Season Four
NBC, Thursday

65 Nip/Tuck Season Six
FX, Wednesday

49 Secret Girlfriend
Comedy Central, Wednesday

62 Sherri
Lifetime, Monday

48 Three Rivers
CBS, Sunday

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed shows.

Friday Night Lights

Season Three

EMAILPRINTSERIES: NBC, Sunday 9:00p (60 minutes)

Friday Night Lights
84
9.8 User Score:

Show Info

Genre(s): Drama, Sports

Created By: Peter Berg

First Air Date: January 16, 2009

Summary

Starring Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Jesse Plemons, Adrianne Palicki, Zach Gilford, Jeremy Sumpter, Taylor Kitsch, Minka Kelly, and Gaius Charles

The football drama based on the movie of the same name returns with the help of DirecTV.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

New York PostLinda Stasi

As good and as riveting as the high school football-as-soap-opera show has been in the past, this season is even better.

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100

Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker

I've seen the entire season already on DIRECTV, and trust me, it only gets better, deeper, and richer.

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100

Slant MagazineAdam Keleman

Not since HBO's "The Wire" has a show juggled so many conflicting and diverse issues like race, money, and class with such staggering insight.

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91

NewsdayVerne Gay

This show was always best when handling the little things that aim to capture life, and often do.

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90

Wall Street JournalDorothy Rabinowitz

It's not often that television with a scope so novelistic--so ambitious--comes along, and not often, either, that it yields drama so sterling.

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83

Entertainment WeeklyAri Karpel

If you think catching up on Smash's injury, Lyla and Riggins' new relationship, and Lyla's now-AWOL mom is overwhelming, just think how Tami (Connie Britton) must feel.

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80

VarietyBrian Lowry

Lights proves not only that it's possible to produce a smart drama with teenage characters, but that a series can be better than the movie (itself inspired by a bestselling book) that spawned it.

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80

TimeJames Poniewozik

Shot intimately with handheld camera, it's a moving but unsentimental celebration of community, of pulling together not just because it's right but also because it's necessary.

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80

Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik

If you watched FNL on DirecTV when it debuted Oct. 1 and appreciated the sheer genius of the season, you might be ready to see the episodes again.

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80

Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall

The premiere doesn't necessarily have the sort of mythical, spine-tingling moments that the first season provided from time to time, but the acting remains strong (particularly by Chandler and Britton, the First Couple of primetime) and it feels like an episode of Friday Night Lights in a way that very little of season two did.

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80

Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray

One of television's best shows has been the exclusive province of DirecTV's 101 Network for months now, but finally "Friday Night Lights" is returning to NBC, with a third season that feels more like the first. In other words, no homicides, accidental or otherwise, just the very real human drama of life in a Texas town where football touches nearly everyone's lives.

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80

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

Despite soapy moments, it offers a more honest portrayal of contemporary high school life than a "90210."

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80

The New York TimesGinia Bellafante

Friday Night Lights (which begins Wednesday on DirecTV, the satellite subscription service that is helping finance it, and moves to NBC in February) is delivered with the precision and manner of ethnography--it never condescends.

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75

San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman

Friday Night Lights, like "Battlestar Galactica," also proved initial assumptions wildly wrong and deserves credit for being vastly better than either a show about high school football or an irksome teen drama.

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75

USA TodayRobert Bianco

There's no denying that the show looks a little worn, a victim perhaps of budget pressures that may have moved the series from cost-efficient to cheap. But even a reduced Lights is better than most TV series.

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70

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

The show may not quite be as immersive as it was at its best; we may not see the likes of FNL’s breathtaking first season again. But in Season 3, it’s more evident than ever that many of FNL’s most powerful moments occur when there’s no dialogue at all.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this show is 9.8 (out of 10) based on 43 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

garth m gave it a10:
9.7, actually. Oh, the fourth season that (possibly)has been set up by the third season finale! What a loss to commercial television the cancellation of this series would represent. I've followed Britton and Chandler since Season 1. Their relationship is rich and real. Anyone remember their little under-the-table whispering spat during the party? A gem of writing and acting. Supporting characters have not been uniformly interesting, nor have they all been actors of the caliber of Britton and Chandler. But some of them are superb. Kudos, then, to Gilford and Plemons. And all praise to the writers, who have managed to salvage such interesting stories (with some exceptions) from what must be an overwhelming temptation to make this a story about football. Friday nights I go to Texas. I look forward to each visit. My deep appreciation goes out to the writers, actors, directors, and cameramen. Because of them I know I won't leave Dillon disappointed.

LIndz gave it a10:
There is no other show on television with such complex and beautifully written characters. The acting is top notch and the cinematography is beautiful. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton have brought the most excellent portrayal of a marriage in all of TV history. THis show is already a classic and I need a season 4!

Ron gave it a10:
Older than most characters on the show, but still able to identify with the characters' personal struggles and triumphs. Whereas shows like "24" offer pure escapism, FNL serves up, without being overly "soapy", realistic depictions of daily life. So far, season 3 is off to strong start and I'm just waiting for Buddy Garrity to be served up a big heaping of "humble pie a la mode"!

Chris B gave it a10:
Having only OTA broadcast, I was seriously ticked off when I didn't see FNL on the schedule this fall. With so much reality dreck on the air I had more free time. I'll make time to watch this, the cast and writing are real enough and the show's a pleasure to sit down with.

Bill N gave it a10:
Friday Night Lights has continued to build the stories that began two years ago and the drama of those lives is protrayed compellingly. This is the best drama on television avoiding the cliches of most television pap. Everytime you are sure where the story of one of he characters is headed there is sharp writing that adds realism to the events.

Jimmy C gave it a10:
FNL's so good I found a person on Craigs List to record the 13 episodes on DirecTv and mail them week by week. Why this show has to fight for its existence boggles me. If Season 3 is the last, everybody involved can go out with heads held way high.

Andy K gave it a9:
Great third season. I watched this on Direct TV and recommend it now on NBC. Strong story line, great new characters, and a finish that (hopefully) allows it to return again.

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