First broadcast: 2007
Creator: HG Bissinger
Starring: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton and Brian "Smash" Williams
Episodes: 22 (Season 1)
The lowdown: When Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) is handed the chance to coach high school American football for the first time in the small Texan town of Dillon, he soon realises that Friday nights will never be the same again.
The expectation placed on his talented, and troubled, Dillon Panthers is huge and they are the pride and joy of the close-knit community.
How they cope, or fail to cope with off-field problems underpins the drama. Each upcoming game is critical to the storylines but the action centres on the characters’ lives outside the stadium. One of the biggest problems facing Taylor is the spinal injury to quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter).
Memorable moment: Rivalry runs deep in the state championship especially when the Panthers and Arnett Mead meet. Before the biggest game of the year both teams try to get one up on each other by vandalising their rival's town.
Trivia: In the pilot episode Jason Street suffers a serious spinal injury. That storyline was inspired by a real life incident in which a player from San Antonio’s High School in Texas, was paralyzed during a game in 2003 game. The series creator, Peter Berg, was at the game and it had a profound effect on him.
