One of the best shows on television in the past decade is now available to stream in its entirety, as Hulu acquires the complete five-season run of Friday Night Lights. Though the series concluded in 2011, the story of Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler), Tami (Connie Britton) and the Dillon Panthers high school football team continues to generate discussion online, whether it be through fond remembrances, memes, or a simple appreciation of Britton's amazing hair. As such, its addition to Hulu’s ever-expanding catalog of great television series shines a spotlight on what the streaming service’s role might be as competition between Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Disney’s soon-to-be-available platform continues to heat up.
While a series about the struggles of a small Texas town’s high school football team, itself an adaptation of a moderately successful feature film starring Billy Bob Thornton, surprised everyone by becoming the critical darling that it was — weird murder subplot aside — the series sometimes struggled to find an audience during its initial run. It’s final season actually aired on DirecTV’s 101 Network, instead of NBC where the series began. After its initial run, however, Friday Night Lights found a second life, thanks to its availability on streaming outlets like Netflix and now Hulu.
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The continued interest in a older but still popular series, and the ability to binge-watch the show in its entirety or re-watch favorite episodes on demand, has become part of Hulu’s model over the past few years. While Netflix and Amazon have largely devoted themselves to creating expensive, blockbuster-sized movies and television series to bolster their original content, Hulu has been picking up the complete runs of beloved TV shows, many of which aren’t available anywhere else.
In addition to the Emmy-winning The Handmaid’s Tale, miniseries like The Looming Tower, and Marvel’s Runaways, Hulu has been bolstering its catalog with the likes of The Golden Girls, Felicity, Dawson’s Creek, and the complete TGIF block of programming. But the real feather in its cap might be all 15 seasons of NBC’s ER.
The streaming service surprised everyone earlier this year with its acquisition of the acclaimed and long-running medical drama, especially after it had become a holy grail of sorts as far as acclaimed series that were impossible to find online. Since making its return thanks to Hulu, ER has become a topic of conversation again nearly 10 years after it ended. Though it hasn’t been unavailable for nearly as long, it’s a good bet Coach Taylor and the rest of the Dillon Panthers will on people’s minds again very soon as well.
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Friday Night Lights seasons 1-5 are currently available to stream on Hulu.