NBC, DirecTV renew 'Friday Night Lights'

Kyle Chandler of 'Friday Night Lights'

Credit: Bill Records/NBC

Thanks to its innovative deal with DirecTV and NBC, "Friday Night Lights" has reportedly received a renewal for two additional seasons.

Clear eyes, full hearts, yada yada!

According to both industry trade papers, DirecTV and NBC have reached an agreement which will allow the Dillon Panthers to play ball for two addition seasons of 13 episodes apiece. 

Following the same blueprint as this season, DirecTV will get an exclusive first-run, commercial-free window for new "Friday Night Lights" episodes. Episodes will then run on NBC in regular broadcast form. With "Friday Night Lights" continuing to struggle to deliver even mediocre ratings on Friday nights for NBC, the deal may be more beneficial to DirecTV, but apparently it still has sufficient value to be worthwhile to the network.

Neither NBC nor DirecTV had made an official announcement as of Monday (March 30) afternoon, but the trades indicate that the pick-up is official.

It remains to be seen how, exactly, "Friday Night Lights" will look when it returns. Many of the major characters have spent the show's third season in their senior year of high school. It's expected that many of those characters will return only in a recurring capacity next season, given the chance at a satisfying exit similar to the departures of Scott Porter's Jason Street and Gaius Charles' Smash Williams this season.

Stay tuned for more information...

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