FirstCuts: Friday Night Lights Trims Its Roster

Somewhat disappointing news this morning as Friday Night Lights has trimmed two characters from its roster of stars as the show prepares to film Season Three. Scott Porter (left) and Gaius Charles (right) have been taken off contract and will only have recurring roles, according to a report from Entertainment Weekly.↵↵⇥In a just-released statement, exec producer Jason Katims says, “Pete Berg, myself and our fellow producers have enormous respect for Scott and Gaius both as actors and individuals. In short, we love them. However, both of their characters have now graduated and in the creative spirit of the show, we have decided to give them powerful four episode arcs that will observe their characters as they launch themselves into the next phase of their lives. We certainly will keep the door open for both actors to return in the future, depending on the actors’ availabilities. We know both Scott and Gaius will go on to have enormous success and we wish the best for both of them.”↵↵

Charles’ character, Brian “Smash” Williams, getting the boot makes total sense. He’s off to college. Even if he isn’t geographically that far, his story was wrapped up nicely. I’m less sure about Porter, considering fans were left with the great baby daddy situation last time we saw the cast, begging the mother of his child to give it a chance.↵
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↵Still, his appearances last season often felt like they didn’t really belong. Although some of his scenes with Herc were amusing, they didn’t seem to fit the narrative. Trimming some story’s fat – and cutting the number of murder mysteries down to zero – is a great way to get Season 3 off on the right track when it makes its debut this fall on DirecTV.↵