NBC Renews Friday Night Lights For Two More Season

NBC has ordered two more seasons of Friday Night Lights. The network and DirecTV have finalized a deal for a 26-episode order of the series about a Texas high school football team. They order is divided into two seasons of 13 episodes each. The show will continue to premiere on DirecTV with a second window on NBC.

Most cast members, including stars Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, are set to return. Not coming back as regular is Minka Kelly, whose character has graduated. She just landed a role on the CW pilot Body Politic. Kelly is expected to return to the show for an arc next season.

Faced with the prospect of canceling the series because of its soft ratings, NBC first struck a pact with DirecTV last year to share the cost of the show’s current third season, which did well for the satcaster in the fourth quarter. Helping make the pickup economically viable is the fact that Friday Night Lights is very efficiently produced in Austin, Texas, where the show also enjoys tax incentives. To keep costs even lower, the two upcoming seasons may be filmed back-to-back. Season 4 will air next season, while Season 5 will run the following season.

Additionally, the two-season pickup makes the show syndicatable as it brings its episode count to 77.