The “Friday Night Lights” Keep The Lights On Campaign

As I’m sure many of you probably know, the future doesn’t look real bright for our Dillon Panthers of the critically acclaimed NBC series “Friday Night Lights.”

What’s Going On

I’ve made no secret that I’m a big fan of “Friday Night Lights.” Last year I thought it was one of the best shows on TV. Period. This year the storylines have been much less worthy of critical acclaim. You can blame that on NBC’s Programming Chief Ben Silverman who inherited the show from his predecessor, Kevin Reilly, and forced the writers to develop stories such as the much-criticized Tyra-Landry murder storyline in an effort to build ratings. Of course, he also moved the show to Friday nights. Forget the fact that Friday nights have never been a strong TV viewing night. The core audience for “Friday Night Lights” are people who enjoy watching Friday night football games…which take place in the fall on…that’s right…Friday nights! What kind of sense does that make?

The Ratings

Even with the move the show has averaged 6.16 million viewers this season, almost on a par with last year’s average of 6.20 million. Maintaining season 1 ratings on a night when fewer people watch TV can be considered a modest accomplishment. NBC, however, does not plan to bring the show back with any new episodes this season.

Will It Be Back Next Year?

Most people think NBC plans on shutting it down. Silverman was recently asked about the show at the launch party for “Lipstick Jungle,” and he repeatedly ignored the questions. When repeatedly pressed to address the future of “Friday Night Lights,” Silverman responded with, “I like it. You like it. But no one watches it. We’ll see what we can do. Watch ’30 Rock!’”

Now, I agree that we should watch “30 Rock” as I think it’s one of the funniest shows on TV. But, what in the world does that have to do with FNL? It’s also interesting to note that “30 Rock” has only averaged a very similar 6.61 million viewers this season. Of course, it airs on ultra-competitive Thursday nights thereby making it more significant in the eyes of the network.

The “Keep The Lights On” Campaign To Save Friday Night Lights

But everyone’s not ready to see the show die a forgotten death just yet. And while we know it’s improbably, “Jericho” has proven that it’s not impossible for a save-a-show campaign to work. Lucky for FNL and for fans of the show, VH1’s Best Week Ever has embraced the cause, launching a full-scale “Save Friday Night Lightsâ€Â? campaign, complete with online petitions and the suggestion of sending lightbulbs to NBC.

Somehow sending lightbulbs lacks that certain something that sending peanuts to save “Jericho” had, but it could still be effective. And there is still hope for the program. NBC has hinted that it might be willing to air the show on one of its sister networks. Doing so would relegate the show to “so what” status for many people but fans of the show would probably still get to watch it for a couple more seasons

I for one intend to do everything I can to save this show as I feel it deserves a chance. With so many other quality shows going away there has to be room somewhere for a show that speaks to so many. What do you think?