Television hasn't had clear eyes and full hearts since NBC's critically acclaimed high school football drama Friday Night Lights ended in 2011. While fans certainly have their pick of favorite scenes from the series' five-season run, one cast member has shared four of her own. In honor of every episode of Friday Night Lights arriving on Hulu, lead actress Connie Britton looked back at the scenes that have stayed with her the most. Find out if any of them are your favorites too!
Jason Street's Injury
With countless scenes to choose from over the course of five seasons, the actress who portrayed Tami Taylor was able to narrow down her top four. One of Connie Britton's favorites (as shared with EW) was one of Friday Night Light's most harrowing scenes. Fans of the show will undoubtedly recall its searing power and the sensation was clearly not lost on one of the series' leads. Britton explained why a certain scene from the pilot made her list, saying:
I love the pilot so much. It's one of the best pilots I've ever seen in my life of any show. And the scene on the football field where Jason Street gets paralyzed is beautifully shot. To me, that's one of the most powerful scenes I've ever seen. That's one that I really love. It set the tone for what the whole series was going to be.
Friday Night Lights' pilot is one of the few in television history to reverberate throughout the entire run of the series. Jason Street being paralyzed underneath the lights of the small town's biggest stage changes Dillon, Texas forever. It is a scene that relies on the cast to communicate the horror of the events. Their performances in scenes like these have cemented the drama's ensemble as one of the greatest to ever hit the small screen.
Fighting Under The Table
Connie Britton's picks continue with another scene from Season 1, also known as the one before Landry killed a guy. At the heart of Friday Night Lights was the marriage of Coach Taylor and his headstrong wife. The love that fueled that marriage was copious enough to fill the open skies of Texas. With her second choice, Britton recalls the quiet comedy that played out between Tami and Coach during an inopportune time for the power couple, saying:
One of my favorite scenes in season 1 is where Tami has a barbecue at the house for the football team, and it's this whole scene under the table with Coach and Tami and she's whisper-yelling at him. I love that scene so much. First of all, we had so much fun shooting it. But also it really does kind of capture that relationship because at the end of the day, even with this crazy world swarming around them, it was the two of them at odds but also loving each other and appreciating the humor in the situation and working it out the best they could. That scene really was such a fun moment of seeing the dynamic between the two of them.
Connie Britton's second mentioned favorite occurs in Season 1's fourth episode. The comedy of the scene helps add levity to a particularly intense episode of Friday Night Lights. In the episode, tensions between The Panthers and their fiercest rivals are inching ever closer to their breaking point. Scenes like Britton's second pick point to the series' innate ability to know when a bit of comedy is needed to lift the mood of the always-simmering series.
The Sex Talk
Connie Britton's third selection is another special Friday Night Lights scene from Season 1. This one is a standout as Tami takes on one of the more challenging conversations a mother has to have with their child. The actress also shares that this is one that many fans of the series have cited as having been very helpful to them when they come up and talk to her about the show. Recalling the scene, Britton reveals:
I loved the episode where Tami talks to Julie about sex. That was a really meaningful moment between those characters, and I've had a lot of people come up to me and say, 'That scene helped me talk to my own daughter about sex.' Even though it was primarily Tami really not knowing how to do it. [Laughs] She did the best she could.
In a Season 1 episode filled with parental angst for Tim Riggins and new romantic prospects for Jason Street, Episode 17 also finds Tami dealing with a major mom moment. With Julie spearheading the decision to take the next step with boyfriend Matt Saracen, her concerned mother decides it is time to have "the talk" with her daughter. As with many conversations on Friday Night Lights, it doesn't play out with the intended finesse. It is this rough-edged facet that gives scenes such as these their grip.
The Final Episode
The time has arrived for Connie Britton's fourth-favorite Friday Night Lights scene. Britton's final favorite is a broader pick than her other ones, which dealt with a single scene. The actress' selection finds Coach and Tami as they are faced with life-changing decisions for their future. It is Britton's only favorite scene to not originate in Season 1. Her last disclosed selection also offers a bookend to her first three. Britton explains the poignant reason behind her last pick, saying:
I loved the final episode and the dynamic between Coach and Tami having to make decisions about their lives. For the series and for the characters, it was a really powerful turn to see them make the decision to follow Tami's career and her desires as opposed to the coach's. The show is about football and how all encompassing the football life is, but then they make a conscious decision [that] they are not going to let their lives be controlled solely by football anymore so that they can include this woman and her dreams too. I thought that was a very cool arc and ultimate ending for the series and for that relationship.
Connie Britton's final favorite highlights one of television's greatest relationships. While Friday Night Lights was about high school, football, and the players that comprised an inspiring team, it also focused on that team's coach, his family, the effect the team had on them and vice versa. It makes Friday Night Lights one of the most multi-layered character dramas that television has ever seen. You can see its impact reflected in the series that have come after it.
In a show filled with memorable scenes, it is impressive that Connie Britton was able to narrow it down to only four. Tami and Coach Taylor shared a myriad of magnificent scenes, including the ones Britton mentions. Scenes involving Coach Taylor and Buddy Garrity are also among Friday Night Lights' most memorable. The buddy chemistry between Kyle Chandler and Brad Leland was another top-drawer aspect of the outstanding series.
Friday Night Lights left a mark that made it a fan favorite during its initial run. It is truly one of television's benchmark series and, thanks to streaming networks like Hulu, a new audience will have an opportunity to discover it. As for fans who watched during its original run, reliving the tremendous series will never get old. For more of what's streaming, check out our guide to 2018's Netflix and Amazon Prime premiere schedules.
