Friday Night Lights (TV series)/Trivia

• Actor Shared Background:
  • Jesse Plemons (Landry Clarke) is one of the few cast members who is also from Texas and who did play high school football.
  • Louanne Stephens (Lorraine Saracen) has experience volunteering with dementia patients in nursing homes, and drew on that for her portrayal.
• Casting Gag: Connie Britton played the same role in the movie as she does in the show.
• The Danza: Lamarcus Tinker as Dallas Tinker, Aaron Spivey-Sorrells as Coach Spivey, Timothy F. Crowley as Coach Crowley.
• Dawson Casting: With the exceptions of Julie and Landry.
  • This is unintentionally Lampshaded when the black students boycott the team, forcing Coach Taylor to draw on the JV. The JV players, played by actually age-appropriate 14-15 year olds, look horribly young and miniscule next to the main cast, some of whom begin teasing the JV players mercilessly, possibly as a bit of Lampshade Hanging.
• Executive Meddling: A reason for most of the sensationalist story lines during the second season.
• Fan Nickname: For Tami Taylor, "Mrs. Coach", after a gloriously awkward encounter onscreen involving her and Matt Saracen.
• Friday Night Death Slot: Survived surprisingly long there, appropriately for the title. It helped that NBC timed the episodes so as not to coincide with high school football season.
• Hey, It's That Guy!:
  • Wallace's absentee dad is Wallace's absentee dad.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Landry is the worst football player in the main cast. Jesse Plemons, his actor, is the only cast member who actually played high school football.
• Name's the Same:
  • The team's called the Panthers and the school colors are blue and gold, just like Degrassi.
  • Also, Berg's very short-lived show from 2000, "Wonderland", also featured a Lyla Garrity. He stated in an interview that both characters were named after his first crush, who was his dentist's daughter.
  • In the Real vs. Fictional category, NBC Television Show Character Brian "Smash" Williams should not be confused with NBC News Anchor Brian Williams.
• Only Barely Renewed: Twice. Fans have blamed the Dork Age on Executive Meddling related to the show's poor ratings. The third season explored premium cable and syndication as a way to make the show profitable.
• Written in Infirmity: Landry's second-season leg injury that put a hold on his football-playing subplot; appropriately enough, Jesse Plemons had actually injured himself in a pick-up game of football.