On a show largely about community, the making of FNL, too, was a kind of community. Though much of the cast came and went throughout the show's run as characters graduated from high school and moved on, FNL was its own family.
The final season had already been shown on DirecTV, so the NBC finale came nearly a year after FNL wrapped. To mark the end, the cast and creators of Friday Night Lights talked about their experience with the show: Britton; Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins); Michael B. Jordan (Vince Howard); Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen); Jason Katims, executive producer; and Peter Berg, creator and executive producer.
With clear eyes and full hearts, they reflected on Friday Night Lights.
Katims: One of the early episodes, we were shooting in a Baptist church. . . . Everybody in the place was effectively part of the community: the congregation, an organ player, singers, a minister. I was up there in the church talking to the minister when we were getting set up to shoot. . . . And then suddenly, without anyone ever calling action, the musicians started playing and the congregation started getting into it. It very naturally was happening. The [assistant director] screamed out, "Hey Jason, you're in the shot!" They just started shooting. And that's very typical of the way Friday Night Lights worked. Nobody called "action," nobody told the background what they should be doing.
Kitsch: I based a lot of Riggins' look off of Gary Oldman in State of Grace. His long hair, his grease. On the pilot and once we got picked up, I'm sitting in the makeup and hair [department] and I'm like, "Nope, more. Nope, more." They were like, "Really? Are you serious?" And I was like, "Yes. This cat, this is who he is." It became this whole overexposed deal about his hair.
