A 'Friday Night Lights' Reunion Just Happened

Whenever I find myself in need of a new TV show to watch, I always seem to turn back to re-watching Friday Night Lights, instead. It's practically a reflex at this point; the pull of Coach Taylor, the Dillon Panthers, and Connie Britton's hair is just too strong to ignore whenever I have an empty Netflix queue and too much time on my hands. Thankfully, I'm not alone in my enduring love for FNL; so many others have banded together to reminisce over the underrated show, demand a movie, and, of course, hope for a cast reunion. Well, while a film seems to be out of the question, a Friday Night Lights reunion did occur at this year's Sundance Film Festival — for one pretty great reason.

According to Coach himself, Kyle Chandler, who was at the festival to promote his much-praised film Manchester by the Sea , a mini-FNL reunion took place when he ran into Jesse Plemons, who played Landry Clarke on the beloved show. Plemons is in Sundance for his film Other People, a dramedy featuring the actor in a star-making lead role. Speaking to Bustle on the Manchester red carpet, Chandler revealed that the two former co-stars met up while in Park City, and judging from his smile, it couldn't have been a happier occasion.

"I saw him, yeah," Chandler said with a wide grin. "I'm pretty happy for him."

No wonder; Plemons' performance in Other People is getting huge acclaim, with many — myself included — sure that it'll be the role that will finally turn the FNL (and Breaking Bad, and Fargo, and The Master...) actor into a major star. It's sweet to see that Chandler, who once played Plemons' on-screen coach and mentor, is just as glad as fans to see him reach success.

Even better? Plemons isn't the only FNL cast member that Chandler has stayed close with. On the red carpet, he revealed that he's still in contact with several of his former co-stars, saying, "I keep in touch with my TV wife and [Taylor] Kitsch, and it’s great."

That Friday Night Lights movie might never happen (still not over it), but it's a consolation to know that so many of the show's stars are still close years after the series went off the air. Whether it's Kitsch and Connie Britton hanging at philanthropy events, Scott Porter and Minka Kelly bonding at concerts, five of the guys spending their weekends together or, now, Chandler and Plemons celebrating their success at Sundance, it's great to see that the Panther love is alive and well, five years after Friday Night Lights left the air.

Image: Giphy