There’s no doubt in my mind they would still be the power couple fans came to know and love on Friday Night Lights.
The cast of the beloved TV series was back in the Lone Star State this past weekend to celebrate 20 years since the show launched. Actors Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Jessie Plemons, Adrianne Palicki, Scott Porter, Gaius Charles, and more were in Austin to reflect back on everyone’s favorite high school football team from Dillon, Texas.
The discussion was a part of the ATX TV Festival, which got started in 2012, right around the time the show ended, and organizers spent the first few years of the festival with a concerted effort on bringing Friday Night Lights content to festival-goers… reunions, screening, discussions with the cast. And to celebrate 20 years of the show, the pulled out all the stops, and brought in most of the top cast, minus Oscar-winner Michael B. Jordan.
Of course, fan-favorite couple Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, who played Coach Eric Taylor and Tami Taylor FNL from 2006 to 2011, portrayed one of the most realistic and healthy marriages I’ve ever seen on television, and the actors developed a real-life friendship throughout their time on the show, too. They famously fought back against writers who wanted their characters to have affairs, insisting that they show a more grounded, normal marriage navigating everyday life, which they did a truly impeccable job at.
The Taylor family really was the heart of the show, including their daughter Julie, who was played by Aimeé Teegarden, and when they were asked what Coach Taylor and Tami’s lives would be like now, Britton joked:
“It’s not easy.”
And Chandler responded by saying he thinks he would be hanging out at his former, seemingly NFL-bound player, Smash’s guest house:
“I’m seeing myself hanging over at Smash’s guest house.”
Spoiler alert here in case you’ve never watched the show (which is insane… you absolutely need to, I’ve rewatched it multiple times because it’s just incredible), ends with Coach Taylor choosing his Tami’s career over his own for the very first time, as he declines a big-time college coaching offer to move to Philadelphia for Tami’s new job as Dean of Admissions at Braemore.
Connie thinks Tami would still be President at some big University, but she knows she would still be with the “old ball and chain” in coach Taylor:
“I was gonna say something serious. I mean, she’s still with this old ball and chain. But I like to think she’s maybe the President of a college or a University.”
Chandler joked again that whatever that situation looked like, it didn’t “omit [him] from being over at Smash’s house”:
“That does not omit me from being over at Smash’s house.”
Spoken like a true husband. I just refuse to think their marriage could have gone any other way…
It seems like they haven’t changed a bit, and look incredible. And that Kyle Chandler… he just ages like a fine wine:
@spilltheatx Where would Coach and Tami Taylor be today? #fridaynightlights #kylechandler #conniebritton #texasforever #spillthetea ♬ original sound – Spill the ATX
Jesse Plemons and Stephanie Hunt, AKA Landry Clarke and Devin Corrigan, also reunited for a performance of “Devil Town” as an homage to their Christian metal band in the show, Crucifictorious:
@deciderdotcom Jesse Plemons and Stephanie Hunt — aka Landry Clarke and Devin Corrigan from #FridayNightLights — have reunited to sing at the 20th anniversary celebration of the epic Texas series. #fridaynightlights🏈 #FridayNightLightsTVShow #LandryClarke ♬ original sound – Decider
The best of Coach and Tami:
