‘Friday Night Lights’ roadshow stops by Dallas to celebrate 20th anniversary
A handful of “Friday Night Lights” cast members reunited in Dallas on Thursday night to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary.
Alamo Drafthouse Cedars was the venue for the Plex and ATX TV Festival-hosted event that included a screening of the season 3 episode “Underdogs” and a live Q&A moderated by the Dallas Morning News’ Sarah Hepola. The event was the first stop on a five-city roadshow in celebration of the series, which will next visit San Antonio on July 16.
Adrianne Palicki (Tyra Collette), Derek Phillips (Billy Riggins), Stacey Oristano (Mindy Riggins), Louanne Stephens (Grandma Saracen), Brad Leland (Buddy Garrity) and Liz Mikel (Corrina Williams) were all in attendance.
“Just like you guys, I’m a fan of this show and such a fan of all the performances of all the people on this panel,” Phillips told the crowd.
‘Friday Night Lights’ cast reunites in Dallas
Editor’s note: Spoilers for “Friday Night Lights” season 3, episode 12 below.
Each stop on the roadshow will see a cast-selected episode, with Palicki handling duties for the Dallas event.
She chose the penultimate season 3 episode because it’s where her character Tyra finds her voice as she writes her college admission essay. Everybody else believed in her, but in that episode, Tyra finally found herself, Palicki added.
“That montage that happens, where it’s showing every character as she’s speaking, which is so beautiful,” Palicki said. “I think there’s just such an evolution of so many characters in that.”
“Underdogs” is also the episode where Dillon loses the state championship and ends the high school football careers of Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch), Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) and more.
Phillips revealed that the episode was originally supposed to end with his character Billy confronting his younger brother Tim over the loss. Instead, the episode ends with Tim laying his cleats on the field and walking away.
“I think it’s just perfect that the episode ends with him with the cleats, not with him with Billy,” Phillips said. “He needed that moment for himself. That’s one of the things I think ‘Friday Night Lights’ did really well.”
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‘Friday Night Lights’ cast on the show’s legacy
The roadshow comes as “Friday Night Lights” is just a few months away from the 20th anniversary of its NBC premiere on Oct. 3, 2006.
As for why the show’s stuck around for the past two decades, Leland said that it may have started out being about high school football, but the series grew to be about community and being part of a team.
“Everybody understands it because they grew up [and] had boyfriends, girlfriends, teachers, coaches and problems,” Leland said. “That’s why it will live on.”
Oristano added that she’s heard from countless people about how watching the show made them feel less alone.
Whether it was people watching the show after they lost their house to Hurricane Sandy, or military members gathering around a DVD player in a submarine to check it out, “Friday Night Lights” has been there for folks when they need it.
Palicki chimed in that she still gets stopped by fans who say they’re going to college because of her character.
“People are still finding the show to this day, young people, which makes me so happy that that’s happening,” Palicki said.
The “Friday Night Lights” roadshow’s next stop is in San Antonio on July 16, with Palicki, Phillips and Oristano attending.
Phillips and Oristano chose the season 3 finale “Tomorrow Blues” for the event, telling the Star-Telegram that it was the last time the original cast were together. The episode also contains the wedding of Phillips and Oristano’s characters, Billy and Mindy.
Following San Antonio, the roadshow travels to Los Angeles on July 21, New York on Aug. 25 and Kansas City on Aug. 28. For tickets and other info on the roadshow, visit here.
