Friday Night Lights Fodder

NBC Hints About Second Season of "Friday Night Lights"

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In an interview for this week's Entertainment Weekly, NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly says he loves "Friday Night Lights" and discusses ways the show could build an audience, but avoids guarantees of a second season. According to Reilly, the show suffers in the ratings because potential viewers:

"[Face] the biggest disconnect...It's a sports show, but it's a relationship show; it's a soap, but it's got social issues. What makes it great makes it hard to market.''

Reilly suggests that a DVD release and reruns could help FNL attract more viewers should NBC "reintroduce" the show next season. You can't fault Reilly for hesitating; he's already committed to FNL and fellow struggling rookie drama "Studio 60" for the rest of the season, when many network executives would have pulled the plug on both low-rated shows. Of course, NBC's now a fourth-place network and can afford to take chances, but it's still a refreshing approach that should give hope to Panthers fans: Even if the struggling team washes out of the playoffs, next year could be their year.