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Austin has been the shooting location for the critically acclaimed and award winning "Friday Night Lights" TV series for just under one and three-quarter seasons. The fractional season, which worked out to 15 episodes rather than 22, was stopped short as a result of the writers' strike. With the strike off, the writers have written their way into the 3rd season and the producers are hoping that a new deal with DIRECTV will bust the cancellation rumors that have loomed over the series.

The cameras started rolling at locations all around town on August 6, and the first premiere will beam down from DIRECTV on October 1, with premiere number two kicking off just after the Super Bowl in January. Wait a minute, isn't having two premieres a bit of an oxymoron? Apparently not. Regardless, the good news is that FNL catches another season and Austin gets to claim another one as its own. But honestly, the real question that begs for an answer is: How is it even possible a show that wins an Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, a Television Critics Association Award, and is named by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten shows of 2006-2007, can possibly be fearing for its very existence?

In a word, eyeballs. Simply put, this is the lifeblood of any show's longevity. Of the viewership that FNL does hold onto, they are holding pretty tightly. These fans are some of the most passionate out there. In fact, "Friday Night Lights" has enjoyed what former NBC President Kevin Reilly dubbed a “passionate and vocal [fanbase].” This has culminated in advertisers actually expressing their support for the show even with its relatively lackluster viewership. There are an unprecedented number of uberloyal fanbase sites out there like savefridaynightlights.com,  fridaynightlightsonline.com, and fridaynightlightsinsider.com. Fans even rallied to raise money to buy 18,750 mini footballs which were mailed to NBC execs as a sign of their support. So if the show is so good and the fans can't get enough, what gives?

The best show you probably never watched

Shame on you. It's shot in Austin for crying out loud. Watch the damn show.

OK, it's not just you. As great a show as it is, it seems to have its challenges in trying to snag an audience. Initially, the show was marketed to high school kids as a show with a strong slant towards the game of football. After a few episodes it was pretty clear that the guerrilla, handheld camera work, the gritty, reality-style editing, and the real-to-life storyline went way beyond the gridiron on any given Friday night. More than just rally girls on the sidelines of a packed stadium, the strong character-based stories spanned across not just the Dillon High School students, but their parents, boosters and other grown-up types. Unfortunately, this really wasn't synching so well with what many people thought the show was about. But shift the marketing  direction to promote the raw and thought provoking drama brought to life every week by the exemplary acting talent, and you might just alienate your initial bread and butter audience. Yikes, what a conundrum.

Therein lies the dilemma that the show has faced almost since episode one. They were able to capture some really connected fans, just not enough of them. The resulting viewership put the show down to a rank of  number 95 for season one and just over 100 in the second run. That comes out to about 6.1 million viewers last season. These are the kind of numbers which make the studio heads start to think that the show would be a great candidate for the next installment of Brilliant but Canceled. But interestingly enough, the decision makers at NBC actually seem to be some pretty big FNL fans themselves; numbers be damned.  OK, maybe no one is tossing the ratings sheets out the window, but when your fans would die for you, the critics keep throwing accolades your way, you have picked up a shelf-load of awards, and have even won the hearts of those notoriously cold studio execs, someone has to get creative to save this thing.

Enter DIRECTV

In a ground breaking deal, the third season of "Friday Night Lights" will make its first appearance on the "101," a free channel for all DIRECTV subscribers. The arrangement is an opportunity for NBC to share the production costs of the show, which are reported to bump at $2 million per episode.  DIRECTV's already hip Channel 101, which is often seen running live shows of some of the coolest bands out there, gets another notch on the hip list. Hitting in October, the traditional start of the network's fall season, DIRECTV will hold the real FNL premiere for the 07-08 year. NBC will then pick things up in January, airing the very same episodes for their broadcast audience. Of course, there is also that minor issue of the illegal video sharing sites out there, which are likely to wind up with some content too. But the deal makers at both companies don't seem to see this as a big deal.

Honestly, the more eyeballs that the show picks up, the more loyal fans it will undoubtedly earn (my words, not theirs). The good news for DIRECTV subscribers and fans of the show's very real and in-your-face style of filmmaking is that they may also enjoy a little censor leniency compared to what normally airs on NBC. This might even be what the show really needs to bust through its viewership ceiling. A less constrained medium where they can really let it all hang out. The show's executive producer, Jason Katims, did offer up that the content and running times may vary, but that changes would be subtle.

Season 3

A lot of Austin extras needed

Some more info that snuck out at the recent DIRECTV press event is that a couple of characters will be finding their way out of the show this year, including Brian "Smash" Williams, played by Gaius Charles, and  Jason Street played by Scott Porter. Both will have the door open to be written into the show in the future as it makes sense.

Shot in Austin

Even if all cylinders hit and the show catches fire and walks itself into a fourth season, something that even diehard fans are probably a little too shell shocked to hold their breath for: there is no guarantee it will shoot here in Austin. That is the big concern for all of the people and businesses the show employs. This includes all the crew and lots and lots of actors who help bring the show to life. Beth Sepko is the Emmy award-winning location casting director for the show, and she is also an Austinite, born and bred. Through her office down on East 5th runs the hundreds of actors she sees each season for FNL. Beth brings in mostly the secondary characters for the show, who help create the facade that Dillon, Texas, is actually a real live place.

Of course this is no small task and just as important when you consider all of the people outside of the primary L.A. based cast. After all, without the secondary cast members, who would all the main characters talk to? This doesn't even include the hundreds and hundreds more who pick up their $75 paycheck for sitting in the stands for 12 hours, pretending they are Dillon's most committed football fans. As you might be aware, with Texas at the bottom of the list for production incentives in the country, FNL or any other TV or film production is just as likely to put Dillon, Texas, in Detroit or Arizona as long as they are paid enough. As an Austinite, if the thought of this concerns you as much as it probably should, then be sure to join the Texas Motion Picture Alliance. They are the only group dedicated to  helping drive Texas incentives to a reputable level.

The cast loves Austin too

There is hardly an interview you read or hear where the cast members aren't expressing their delight over being able to shoot in Austin. Spread the word A-list actors, Austin is a great place to shoot. In fact, have a look at a few really cool videos on the NBC site with all the key characters talking up Güerro's, Lord's Gym, Lucky Lounge and some other places in our great city, in these Austin Spotlights.

Steve Muccini is president of SpotEdge Media, an award winning video production company producing content for TV and the web, and also HomeSaleVideo.com and affiliated with Melton Media. He is also a writer, producer and actor in Austin, Texas.