Friday Night Lights

10 TV Shows Better Than the Books They Were Based On

So if you’re celebrating your birthday today, you share it with Charlaine Harris, she who gave the world the insanely successful Sookie Stackhouse novels and thus, indirectly, also the joys of True Blood. As you’ve probably noted if you read Flavorwire at all regularly, we’re borderline obsessed with True Blood, and its success got us thinking of the slew of TV shows based on books that have emerged in the last few years — and, in particular, those that have defied the old adage that the book is always better. We’ve collected a bunch of shows that we reckon have transcended their literary origins — can you think of any other shows that are better than the books they’re based on? (And before you go all crazy in the comments, a disclaimer: we said “better.” We’re not necessarily claiming the books in question are bad — although some most definitely are — just that the TV series they spawned was/is better. OK? Carry on.) … Read More

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‘Friday Night Lights’ Creator Peter Berg Developing Greek Gods Drama for Fox

If you had to guess what Friday Night Lights creator Peter Berg’s next TV project would be, would you ever in a million years stumble upon the description, “Bourne by way of 300“? Probably not, but remember that Berg is also the guy who directed Battleship and you’ll realize that (even if we’d prefer he… Read More

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Tami Taylor Is Not OK With Romney Ripping Off ‘Friday Night Lights,’ Y’all

She may look sweet as all-American apple pie, but Friday Night Lights fans know you don’t mess with Tami Taylor. So, although Mitt Romney has been ignoring FNL creator Peter Berg’s request that he stop using the show’s “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose” slogan in his presidential campaign, we sure hope he… Read More

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What Is Mitt Romney Even Getting Out of 'Friday Night Lights'?

Last week, Friday Night Lights creator Peter Berg wrote Mitt Romney a letter asking him to stop using the show’s beloved slogan, “Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose,” in his campaign. He rightly pointed out that the candidate’s values were at odds with FNL’s and, hilariously, compared Romney to “Buddy Garrity — who… Read More

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'Friday Night Lights' Creator Tells Romney to Stop Using His Show's Slogan

“Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose.” Just reading those words is enough to give us chills. We picture Coach Taylor in the the Dillon Panthers’ locker room, delivering a heartfelt speech that will inspire his team to come back from behind and win the big game. So we understand why Mitt Romney, a self-proclaimed fan… Read More

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TV’s Greatest High School Nerd Transformations

With the recent Bunheads finale, the fast-approaching end of Awkward’s second season, and a promising Inbetweeners reboot, we confess we’ve gotten caught up in a lot of teen angst these past few weeks. So since we’re in the state of mind, we decided to look at some of the great high school series in television history and their nerd spawn. Like the teenage protagonists of the aforementioned shows, these characters all started out uncool, insecure, and/or sartorially challenged. And then of course, they grew up. You can click through for some before and after shots we dug up, and hope you’ll let us know about any great geek transformations we might have missed. And now, we’ll be making our way back to the couch for more adolescent love triangles, camera phone farce, and woefully instructive tales of sex.  … Read More

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25 Behind-the-Scenes TV Photos That Will Mess With Your Mind

Last week, we took a look at some of Hollywood’s most mind-blowing behind-the-scenes movie photos, and that post left us wondering whether those images might have equally impressive TV equivalents. Good news: they do. Despite the fact that film budgets tend to run higher than their small-screen counterparts, television has plenty of its own magic that’s ripe for elucidating (or, you know, ruining). After the jump, we collect 25 behind-the-scenes TV photos that are sure to change how you see your favorite shows. Find out how Breaking Bad gets its famously crazy point-of-view shots, witness True Blood vampires on set in broad daylight, learn what those Mad Men are really smoking, peek into the not-so-intimate bedroom of Friday Night Lights’ Mr. and Mrs. Coach, and watch living characters hang out with dead ones (or just their pint-size doppelgängers) in our gallery. … Read More

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‘Lost’ Showrunner Brings ‘Psycho’ Prequel to A&E

What an exciting time for Losties! Late last week we told you about a very promising sounding new HBO series from Damon Lindelof. Now, Inside TV is reporting that A&E has ordered 10 episodes of a prequel to Psycho from the other Lost showrunner, Carlton Cuse, who will co-executive produce the… Read More

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If TV’s Most Famous Families Were ‘Game of Thrones’ Houses

The Internet has already had quite a bit of fun with Game of Thrones’ house sigils, remixing them as everything from minimalist to adorable. But why must banners be limited to the clans of Westeros? CollegeHumor has taken the meme to the next level, creating sigils for House Swanson, House Crawley, and even, inevitably, House House. So, if every TV family from Full House to Friday Night Lights were battling for some kind of primetime throne, who would you pick as a winner? We’d have to go with Breaking Bad’s House White — although we’d also be terrified to fight alongside Heisenberg. Click through to see a few of our favorite banners, and visit CollegeHumor to giggle your way through the entire set. … Read More

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TV’s All-Time Worst Rich People

This year’s break-out primetime soap Revenge is yet another testament to our fascination with the rich and awful, in this case the Graysons — the family Emily Thorne (who is really Amanda Clarke) believes to be responsible for her father’s death. As we approach tonight’s finale, we’re looking forward to the big reveals (namely, who will die?), as well as the simple things: some Nolan and Ems hostage banter, a few classic Victoria zingers to send us on our way for the summer, and Daniel slipping further into the dark side (and, in turn, ratcheting up the tension between him and his possibly sociopathic bride-to-be).

The Grayson family’s hand in the David Clarke cover-up is far from clear at this point, but we’ve spent enough time in the Hamptons this year to know the scope of their power leaves nothing out of the realm of possibility. If you’re a Grayson and you want something done, it generally happens. Which of course got us thinking about the history of awful rich people on TV — from the lovably conniving (think Victoria) to the plain awful (think Conrad). Click through for our roundup of the most indelible characters, and as always we invite you to make your own additions in the comments. … Read More

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