'Friday Night Lights': Are five seasons enough?

Word on the street — and by “the street” I mean Michael Ausiello’s Smurf-bedecked suite — is that Friday Night Lights will very likely end in 2011 after airing two more seasons. After breaking this news with Ausiello, star Connie Britton hedged a bit in another recent interview: “You never know — if it does do really, really well, maybe they would go on for more seasons.” Sure, if FNL suddenly becomes a ratings beast in the next year or so, then all involved will no doubt reconsider their options. But Britton added that she’s not afraid of the possibility that the series might say goodbye after season 5: “Everybody is really embracing the idea of having two seasons and being able to be really specific with these arcs and know where we’re going to end up.”

I’m inclined to agree with her. Friday Night Lights has had a fantastic creative run so far, one of the strongest of any network drama in recent memory. I can’t wait to get junkie-level, absolutely-can’t-miss hooked again when season 4 premieres. But consider how much cast upheaval FNL already saw last season, with so many core characters graduating or otherwise leaving Dillon High. Two seasons from now, I can only assume many of the replacement characters from season 4 will be facing that same crossroads. And while I’d love to see Britton and Kyle Chandler (pictured) mentoring an infinite series of new high-schoolers for years to come, I expect the end of season 5 will make a natural stopping point for the characters we’ve gotten to know. Besides, I’ll count us lucky to have gotten even five full seasons of a show with ratings as (undeservedly) dicey as FNL‘s.

But what do you think? Will you be happy with five seasons from Friday Night Lights, or do you wish this show could go on forever?

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