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Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights

Hope comes alive on Friday nights.

20046.91h 58m

Overview

A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Boobie Miles, is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, and the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines to instill in the other team members -- and, by proxy, the town itself -- a sense of self-respect and honor.

Directed by Peter Berg
Written by David Aaron Cohen, Buzz Bissinger, Peter Berg
Produced by Brian Grazer
Box OfficeBudget: $30.0MRevenue: $61.3M

Top Cast

Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton

Coach Gary Gaines

Lucas Black

Lucas Black

Mike Winchell

Garrett Hedlund

Garrett Hedlund

Don Billingsley

Derek Luke

Derek Luke

Boobie Miles

Jay Hernandez

Jay Hernandez

Brian Chavez

L

Lee Jackson

Ivory Christian

Lee Thompson Young

Lee Thompson Young

Chris Comer

Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw

Charles Billingsley

Grover Coulson

Grover Coulson

L.V. Miles

Connie Britton

Connie Britton

Sharon Gaines

Themes & Keywords

high schoolbased on novel or booksportsamerican footballtexascomebackbased on true storycoachracism

About Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights is a drama film released in 2004 exploring themes of high school, based on novel or book, sports, american football, texas, comeback. Directed by Peter Berg, it stars Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Garrett Hedlund. A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Boobie Miles, is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, and the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines to instill in the other team members -- and, by proxy, the town itself -- a sense of self-respect and honor.

Movies Similar to Friday Night Lights

Discover titles like Friday Night Lights — ranked by similarity and community votes

We found 15 movies similar to Friday Night Lights

If you enjoyed Friday Night Lights, you'll love these handpicked recommendations. Each title below shares similar themes, tone, and storytelling style. Our algorithm analyzes genres, keywords, director filmography, and cast connections to find the closest matches. Whether you're looking for the same emotional depth, narrative structure, or visual style, these picks are curated to deliver the best viewing experience for fans of Friday Night Lights.

Radio
40% Match

Radio(2003)

Movie7.3/10

In the racially divided town of Anderson, South Carolina in 1976, football coach Harold Jones spots a mentally disabled African-American young man nicknamed Radio near his practice field and is inspired to befriend him. Soon, Radio is Jones' loyal assistant, and he becomes a student at T.L. Hanna High School. But things start to sour when Coach Jones begins taking guff from parents and fans who feel that his devotion to Radio is getting in the way of the team's quest for a championship.

Remember the Titans
39% Match

After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.

Woodlawn
36% Match

Woodlawn(2015)

Movie6.9/10

Love and unity in a school torn by racism and hate in the 1970s. A gifted high school football player must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field.

The Blind Side
35% Match

The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.

Hoosiers
31% Match

Hoosiers(1986)

Movie7.0/10

Failed college coach Norman Dale gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to coach a high school basketball team in a tiny Indiana town. After a teacher persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter, a notorious alcoholic.

All the Right Moves
30% Match

Sensitive study of a headstrong high school football star who dreams of getting out of his small Western Pennsylvania steel town with a football scholarship. His equally ambitious coach aims at a college position, resulting in a clash which could crush the player's dreams.

Coach Carter
29% Match

Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.

We Are Marshall
29% Match

When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.

The Great Debaters
29% Match

The true story of a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African-American college students into a historical powerhouse that took on the Harvard elite.

The Longest Yard
29% Match

Disgraced pro football quarterback Paul Crewe lands in a Texas federal penitentiary, where manipulative Warden Hazen recruits him to advise the institution's football team of prison guards. Crewe suggests a tune-up game which lands him quarterbacking a crew of inmates in a game against the guards. Aided by incarcerated ex-NFL coach and player Nate Scarborough, Crewe and his team must overcome not only the bloodthirstiness of the opposition, but also the corrupt warden trying to fix the game against them.

Goal!
29% Match

Goal!(2005)

Movie6.8/10

Like millions of kids around the world, Santiago harbors the dream of being a professional footballer... However, living in the Barrios section of Los Angeles, he thinks it is only that—a dream. Until one day an extraordinary turn of events has him trying out for Premiership club Newcastle United.