Zach Gilford Would Be ‘All For’ a ‘Friday Night Lights’ Reboot — With 1 Stipulation

Zach Gilford isn’t turning down an invite to a reunion at Dillon High School. 

Gilford, 42, who played quarterback-turned-art school student Matt Saracen on all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, exclusively told Us Weekly that he’s open to a reboot of the beloved football drama, with a few stipulations. 

“What made that show was the authenticity,” Gilford said. “As long as there was some storyline that wasn’t contrived to bring a number of the characters back together, I’m all for it.”

The actor said he’d even support some kind of revival “even if I’m not a part of it.”

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“But if it was just some very contrived way of getting the band back together,” he continued, “I think it would diminish what that show was.”

While fans of Friday Night Lights have long petitioned for more since the show completed its fifth and final season in 2011, not everybody has been as open to the idea as Gilford. 

When Taylor Kitsch, who played football bad boy Tim Riggins on the show, was asked about a potential FNL reboot, he firmly stated there’s no more “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” in his future.

"You may see it, but I will not be a part of it," Kitsch, 43, told Variety in July 2022. "I'm done. I'm good. I want to keep growing as an actor. Going back to Rigs — let him live in everyone else's memories. Whatever that is, whatever he means to them, let him lay there."

Despite his desire to leave Riggins Rigs and the Alamo Freeze in the rearview mirror, Kitsch expressed gratitude for everything the show gave him. 

Kitsch said, "It was such a huge springboard for me, but I'm such a different actor now. It allowed me to explore the process, be f--king green and embrace it."

The dream of more Friday Night Lights might not actually be of the fever variety, Back in 2021, FNL producer Brian Grazer told Collider that there were plans for another Friday Night Lights movie set in 2015 which would “lead us into a new series that takes place in a more recent time.”

Meanwhile, Friday Night Lights star Aimee Teegarden, who played Julie Taylor, recently gushed about meeting up with Gilford and costar Scott Porter, who played Jason Street. 

“It was really wonderful just reconnecting with people who have been in your life [during] your formative years,” Teegarden exclusively told Us in March about the meet-up. “Everybody gets busy with life and just being able to spend some face time was great.”

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While we patiently wait for more FNL, Gilford can next be seen on Season 2 of Criminal Minds: Evolution as killer Elias Voit, a much more sinister character than sweet Matt Saracen.

However, Gilford’s FNL roots came in handy when he had to show off his character’s softer side. 

“Most of the stuff you see him do is being a family man,” the actor told Us. “I think that kind of built up the creep factor because you’re seeing this nice guy trying to be a good dad, trying to take care of his wife. But in the back of your head, you realize he’s doing all of this so he can serial kill people.”

Season 2 of Criminal Minds: Evolution premieres on Paramount+ Thursday, June 6.