Friday Night Lights to be Saved by ESPN, Then Ruined By ESPN?
I’ve been down this road before. Arrested Development had all sorts of rumors surrounding it. Showtime was going to pick it up to go with Weeds. HBO would have picked it up if HBO weren’t such uppity jerks about not having other networks “leftovers.” It was even rumored that NBC was going to grab it as a natural compliment for The Office. Of course, none of these things happened and AD went quietly with a four episode mini-marathon opposite the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremonies. It now lives only pleasant memories, DVDs, and references that most people don’t get. (It’s like being part of a special club of people who do chicken dances that in no way resemble chickens.) And so, when I heard Friday Night Lights, my newest inevitably doomed favorite TV show, might be picked up by another network, I was guardedly excited. Then I heard the other network might be ESPN. Now I really am not sure how I should feel about this at all.
Is Friday Night Lights, NBC’s critically acclaimed, little-watched high school football drama, headed to ESPN? According to a source familiar with the proceedings, the self-proclaimed “World-wide Leader in Sports” is in talks to bring the flagging Texas-based show into its original programming stable.
This seems like fantastic news on the surface. It probably isn’t. FNL is notoriously expensive, with many on-location shots and a large cast. NBC is having trouble with its expenses, I doubt ESPN will be willing to pony up the necessary dough to keep it at the quality we’re accustomed to. I’ve spent the whole year complaining about how it appears that FNL has been spicing it up in a vain attempt to increase their viewership. ESPN isn’t exactly known for their subtlety. We could almost certainly expect more stories like the Landry-the-killer arc. And sweet fancy Moses, if Mike & Mike replace Slammin’ Sammy Mead, I might just lose it.
So, I’m saying this right now, if NBC is going to cancel Friday Night Lights, that should be the end of the show. Arrested Development might not have gone out on its own time-table, but it went out on its own terms. Let’s let FNL have that same (sort of) dignity, and not let it turn into a high school version of Playmakers. Because there are worse things than getting cancelled.
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