One of the countless bounties of the digital age is the emergence of serialized television as an art form that routinely exceeds movies in its ability to present meaningful, in-depth character studies. Cable television, with early masterpieces such as The Sopranos and The Wire paving the way for shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, Dexter, and too many others to name, has changed the landscape and made television an ever-greater draw and more fertile playground for actors and writers to ply their craft.
The growth of streaming services has made it easier than ever to go back and find great shows that one missed when they first emerged, and has enabled the behavior known as “binge watching”or “bingeing.” By at least one report, a large majority of viewers nowadays engage in bingeing, and I number myself among them. Bingeing, I have found, lets me connect more closely to characters and their arcs, and more clearly follow their development and evolution. It also lets me immerse myself in one series at a time, and in the cases of series that have run their course, achieve “closure” either by viewing it through to the end or reaching a point where it no longer interests me and I can choose to move on.
Based on countless glowing recommendations from the various corners of the Internet, I decided to give the series version of Friday Night Lights a go. The show, made by the creator who first brought us the movie that starred Billy Bob Thornton, is about high school football in small-town America. In this case, about the Panthers of Dillon, Texas. The series, which broadcast on NBC for two seasons before being picked up by the USA network for another three, racked up a slew of award nominations and won a couple Emmys.
I was drawn in, and just finished bingeing the series. I won’t offer any spoilers, other than to say the show never got tiring, the characters remained interesting throughout, and the series ended wonderfully.
The show’s narrative focus is the head coach of the team, but also gives plenty of attention and screen time to his wife, daughter, and a spectrum of other characters. It follows the stories of several football players, several other students connected to the players, and their family members. Football is king in this small town, a fact reinforced in countless ways. The marquee football players are stars, both the social and academic structures of the school revolve around them, and the town’s pride is inextricably attached to the success of the team. Money and attention flow inexorably to football, as do various spoils. The kids, football and non-football alike, are heavily influenced by this reality, and the show does an excellent job of showing how small-town high school football shapes their lives and futures.
But, the show goes well beyond football. It shows us the reality of life in the heartland, with its combination of “everyone knows everyone” intimacy, hard economic realities, and the traps and pitfalls that many face. And, the actual game play is a rather small part of the narrative and screen time. Rather, it is how football shapes the lives of the characters that drives the narrative.
The show succeeds on multiple levels, and is a splendid example of how serialized television offers far greater opportunity for character development and evolution than any movie ever could. It never seems to forget, for example, that high schoolers are just that – high school teenagers – and can be impulsive, stupid, and wrong-thinking in their decision making even as they retain their hopes, dreams, and goodness of personality. The adults also remain true to their personalities, warts and all, and exhibit human failings without descending into caricature. The intimacy of small-town life, where work, play, socialization, education, careers and, of course, football, all bleed into each other, is on full display, and can be quite revelatory at times. Religious belief is, as expected, strong in the town, but doesn’t get much attention beyond prayers and church going. Family is also strong, with family ties and loyalty driving the characters at their cores. Above all, and in an often heartbreaking fashion, the show depicts how the young can feel trapped and with few options as they approach adulthood and the end of their sheltered time as high school students.
The show doesn’t shy away from certain life realities: Bad things happen to good people. Good people can and do screw up. People can improve their lots in life. The system is both callous and bigger than any one person, and often wins. Teenagers are stupid. People are often blindly selfish and self-centered, but do have moments of clarity. It doesn’t, however, descend into the cynicism or misanthropy that infects so much “we’re too cool for the room” television writing. Its message is positive, hopeful, and warm-hearted, and it retains an optimism and a family focus even through difficult situations.
Watching the series does constitute a commitment of time, with 5 seasons and 76 episodes (the first season runs 22 episodes, the second, 15, and the last three run 13), but the nature of the series, which focuses more on the evolution of the characters than on specific story arcs, doesn’t have the burdensome cliff-hanger and lack-of-closure feel that makes watching some long series feel like a chore after a while. Its character-driven writing does an excellent job of depicting people’s basic humanity, strengths and weaknesses, and even though many of the characters are obvious tropes and caricatures at the outset, virtually all of them get fleshed out and humanized as they develop, and the cookie-cutter two-dimensionality falls away. To say the show goes well beyond its football premise is quite true, but it doesn’t forget itself in that regard, and the importance of high-school football, to the town, to its residents, and as a vehicle for shaping the young, is always on display.
If you’re a football lover, it’s a near-certainty that you’ll enjoy the show. But, even if you’re a football cynic, or don’t understand the allure, or have strong negative opinions, I still recommend the show. It’ll show you what the fuss is about, and might even soften your opinions. It’s well-written and well-crafted, and stands out even in the incredibly crowded television and streaming landscape. I highly recommend it.
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