“Are you ready for Friday night?” With that one question Kyle Chandler who stars in the NBC drama Friday Night Lights as Coach Eric Taylor, launches the shows third season tonight. The third season first aired on DirecTV in October and went for 13 straight weeks.

Chandler, who is coming off a big screen turn as Kathy Bates assistant John Driscoll in the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which premiered in December says he was thrilled to return to his small screen role as Coach Taylor.

When asked about doing a shortened season, Chandler replied, “I don’t see anything in what we’re doing this year as a negative at all, absolutely everything is a positive. I really feel like it’s a new show.”

This season Friday Night Lights went back on location in Austin, Texas which Chandler described as “very laid back and cool. The whole city is incredible and the greatest compliment we get from the residents is when they say ‘thank you’ for representing us so well.”

What Chandler did not like about shooting in Austin was being away from his wife and two daughters. The family spent time shuffling to and from Austin on weekends, which Chandler admits was hard and a lot of work.

One thing he did enjoy was that this time he actually lived in the city. “I’ll be living in the city so I can actually walk out my apartment door and be a part of the city. It has so much to offer. It’s a wonderful place.”

High school football seasons are 10 games long with usually a three game playoff situation. Chandler says that each week will encompass or at least reference a game leading up to the season finale. It looks like the Panther’s are making the playoffs this year.

Chandler who played a year-and-a-half of high school football could relate to when his TV team won the championship. His high school football team won the state championship the first year he played.

“I remember when we won on the show and could directly correlate to when I was a kid and we won that state championship. Although I didn’t play (he says in practice he played every position but during games he was literally a bench warmer), man that was the roughest summer of my life. My ear lobes were sore after that first practice.”

When asked if his team received a championship ring he replied, “No, jackets with patches.”

Chandler, whose family lived in Loganville, GA from the time he was 11 through his college years, has fond memories of the place “where he grew-up.”

“I learned how to hunt and fish and explore the outdoors down in Georgia. It was a very peaceful time in my life and it’s a beautiful state. I went to the University of Georgia, which is a wonderful place to go to school and a beautiful town.”

Chandler says he recently returned to Athens with his wife for a visit. “We stayed in town and I got to share a lot of the things I did there.”
 Asked how it had changed since he was a student he replied, “I noticed a lot of places were just gone and new places had opened up. I did miss out on going to the Varsity. I didn’t get anything to eat at the Varsity. But the Taco Stand is still there!”

He admits to not keeping up with this past season of Georgia football explaining, “I’ve got my daughter in horse, the other one’s in soccer, there’s four different camps going on. I’m a driver. I drive from here to there and from there to here. I don’t even have time to watch much TV!”

He admits that with Sag braced for a possible strike, things are quiet but as soon as “all that gets resolved” he expects “to hear a spark and then a large explosion.”

As for fans of the show he says “The number one thing they always ask me, ‘Is the show coming back?’ and when I tell them yes, they are always happy.”

Catch the new season of Friday Night Lights starting tonight on NBC at 9:00pm and for the next 13 weeks.

By Missy Lee

Missy Lee is the publisher, editor and chief reporter for ILoveTelevision.com. Prior to starting ILoveTelevision.com she worked for TV-Now.com and the late Tony Bray. After living in LA and covering all things entertainmentfor a number of years, she moved back to her home state of Tennessee.