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Can 'Friday Night Lights' be the exception?

newsday: Jason Katims was born in Brooklyn, spent his early childhood at the Ebbets Field Apartments and is a lifelong Mets fan. In other words, he's one of us -- a sports guy.

What he is trying to do now, though, is rare in his chosen field of producing TV shows: establishing a durable, critically acclaimed hit with a sports theme.

"Friday Night Lights," based on the book and film about Texas high school football, already has won over critics and has a passionate fan base. But its ratings have been as barren as West Texas dust.

Keeping it alive long enough to find a broader following required an innovative deal sealed earlier this month in which DirecTV will share in the cost in return for showing episodes first, beginning Oct. 1. NBC will offer the same episodes starting in February.

"It's a very exciting way to not only keep the show alive," said Katims, an executive producer, "but hopefully breathe new life into it."

That will require bridging a gap that much sports-themed culture faces: convincing non-sports fans to give sports itself a chance, and convincing sports fans to give fictional drama about sports a chance.

"The truth is, people who love football and people who hate football love this show when they find it," Katims said. "The hardest thing from a marketing and publicity point of view is getting people to sample the show."

Many sports movies have found a way to cross over. TV? Not so much.

"Other than 'The White Shadow,' I don't know that television has had sports shows that have tapped into what's wonderful about the culture of sports in the way movies have," Katims said. ...continue reading