Today, April 8th, is Taylor's 27th birthday! 
 
We here at TaylorKitsch.net would like to take this chance to wish Taylor a very happy birthday. We wish him continued success throughout the year, and we hope that he gets all that he's wished for...and more!
 
Cheers,
Julia, Carol & Kelly

As most of you already know, Taylor's 27th birthday is on April 8th. We here at TK.net will be posting a special birthday message for Taylor on Tuesday, but if you would like to send Taylor a birthday message of your own, you can do so by going here, and commenting on the "birthday blog" on his official MySpace fan page.

 

Please note...you must be a MySpace member to post a comment! If you don't already have a MySpace account, don't worry. Registration is free and easy.

 

The 13-episode season will air first on DirecTV in the fall and then run on NBC in midseason, probably in its current Friday night time slot, said David Nevis, president of Imagine Television, which produces the show. NBC is expected to officially announce the deal in a presentation to advertisers in New York this afternoon.

 

 

Both the gallery and the graphics sections of the site have been updated.

• En Route Magazine Scans - March 2008

• 12 New Icons
  

 

NBC, which made a big point last month about moving to a year-round schedule of program introductions and changing the way it introduces its shows to advertisers, has announced a "prime time press presentation" to be held on April 2, six weeks before the traditional week of network upfronts.

In an invitation, NBC said it would "outline the network's strategy for its 2008-09 prime time program schedule" at the event, which it playfully called an "Infront."

While NBC is not expected to give details about specific scheduling moves, executives will discuss their outline for a "52-week season."

The bulk of network TV advertising time is sold during the "upfront" time period, which has historically started in May with a series of lavish presentations to media buyers. Last month NBC said it would modify its presentation and hold a series of meetings with leading advertisers in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles in early April. At an event in May, the network has said it will emphasize all its advertising opportunities beyond prime time on NBC.

At the April 2 event, NBC may comment on some of the unanswered questions of the television season, including the status of "ER," "Scrubs," and "Friday Night Lights." NBC has shown interest in renewing "ER" for a fifteenth season. It has also conducted negotiations with ABC Studios, the makers of "Scrubs," about the future of that sitcom. And it has reportedly pursued a deal with DirecTV to collaborate on a third season of "Friday Night Lights."

Link

 

 

Best. Panel. Ever. That's basically how I'd describe last night's Friday Night Lights session at Paley Fest '08. OK, so, I may be a little biased, having served as moderator of said panel, but the fact remains: The 800 or so Panther fans who packed into the Cinerama Dome got their money's worth. And if you don't believe me, believe my colleague Anna Dimond, who was embedded in the crowd with pen in hand chronicling every scoopbit, spoiler and motorcycle thrust.

 

Participants: Adrianne Palicki, Zach Gilford, Aimee Teegarden, Minka Kelly, Scott Porter, Connie Britton, Jason Katims and Jeffrey Reiner.

MIA: Taylor Kitsch, Gaius Charles, Jesse Plemons and Kyle Chandler, all of whom were stuck on film sets far away from L.A.

 

Cutting to the chase: Although the DirecTV deal is still not official, Katims said to expect some news "within two or three weeks." Even more promising, he referred to shooting new episodes in July, before quickly qualifying it with an "if the show returns." What would a DirecTV deal look like? Basically, FNL would air on NBC and DTV concurrently.

What if?: Where does the story pick up "if" the show comes back? According to Katims, it's unclear. Most likely, the action would jump ahead to a new school year. As for "graduating" cast members or "incoming freshman," he maintained that he's devoted to his core cast, but added that there needs to be a balance between the authenticity of the show (i.e., people do leave high school, eventually) and its growth (move over, Taylor, there's a new hottie in town).

Of football and young men: Regardless of where (and if) next season's plot picks up, there are a few things that are going to stay front and center, with football topping that list. Katims admitted the sport had been benched a little bit this year, but promised that would change next season. He also assured fans that the storyline surrounding Smash's transition to college will be told.

Killer plot: Katims, being the stand-up guy he is, took full responsibility for the murder plot that polarized fans and critics alike. He then pointed out that at least one good thing came out of the controversial story: Tyra and Landry got together!

Awwww: Gilford is super, super, super shy. The mere mention of the scene from this season in which Matt gets a lap dance made him blush. He also has trouble taking a compliment. When the moderator (me!) offered him props for his big bathroom breakdown scene in this season's penultimate episode, he gave all the credit to Chandler (his costar in said scene) and the good "camera angles."

Scenes from a perfect marriage: Britton said she and Chandler clicked immediately. She also shared their daily morning routine: running lines over coffee.

Funnyman: The show's resident practical joker is... Taylor Kitsch! Who would've thought?

Dance man: It didn't take much prompting, but, thanks to one fan's request, a super-game (and buff) Scott Porter stood up, walked to the front of the stage and reenacted his famous motorcycle hip thrust from Music & Lyrics. He even topped off his performance with a sassy little booty shake. What's not to like?

 

 

Taylor wasn't able to attend last night's Paley Festival with the rest of his FNL cast mates (due to other commitments), but it sounds like he was there in spirit according to the following report...

  

The Friday Night Lights panel at Paley Fest was moderated by Michael Ausiello from TW Guide, and an avid FNL himself. In attendance were Jason Katims and Jeffrey Reiner, Executive Producers. Connie Britton, Minka Kelly, Aimee Teegarden and Adrianne Palicki all looked gorgeous in their dresses, and Scott Porter and Zach Gilford looked lucky to be stuck in between them. Kyle Chandler could not make it back in time from a Canadian shoot (apologies given via Connie Britton). Gaius Charles, Jesse Plemons, and Taylor Kitsch were not there, much to every woman's heartbreak. 

  

The first on-line user submitted question was directed mainly towards the women: "What is it like working with Taylor Kitsch? He is so hot." Gilford immediately responded, "It's really kind of distracting." The women seem to agree that the hardest part is dealing with Kitsch's inability to keep a straight face in any scene. They also agree that his laugh is hard to take seriously, and then do impressions of it. Jason Katims confirms Kitsch's role in the next Wolverine film would not interfere with shooting Season 3, if they are picked up.

 

Porter and Kelly talked about the story arc in Mexico. Kelly admitted to some trepidation over the complex relationship between Jason Street, Lyla Garrity and Tim Riggins, but was pleased with how well everything turned out. She concluded that being stuck kissing both Porter and Kitsch "was awesome." 

 

Katims says he was consistently impressed with Kitsch's development of Tim Riggins in Season 1, and equally impressed with the rest of the cast.

 

 

That's the latest I'm hearing on NBC's on-the-bubble, fan-favorite series Friday Night Lights—that the deal for season three is "nearly done" (a deal that would bring FNL to both NBC and DirecTV in the fall).

I'm also hearing that cast members' agents and managers are being told it's looking "likely" that the show will come back this fall for...13 episodes.

Yes, it seems FNL may be on a probationary period for season three (awaiting pickup of the back nine episodes), but fear not! With the new eyeballs coming to the series via DirecTV, and the new attention to the show via the kickass fanpaigns to save it, surely the ratings will improve and FNL will get a full season. So if you ask me, this is all good news! Or rather, it will be good news...If they'd only finalize everything and announce it.

The gallery has been updated to include several new albums & photos, with more still to come!

 

• FNL Season 2 Screencaps: Episodes 1 - 10
• Appearances Albums Updated

• 15 New Icons
  

But the strike also appears to have given NBC time to come up with a financially palatable way to save Central Texas-shot Friday Night Lights, keeping the show on for a third year.

While NBC officials are declining to comment citing ongoing negotiations, Bob Hudgins, head of the Texas Film Commission, says he was told a rumored deal with satellite provider DirecTV will happen, and the series should begin series prep in June for a July start.

Rumors of the deal first arose last week on the Web site Dead linehollywooddaily.com.

Most likely the deal would be similar to one NBC struck with DirecTV last year that brought the soap opera Passions to the satellite provider's The 101, a channel that provides original programming. Whether the show would continue to appear on NBC, as well, is uncertain but likely.

Lights has had a rough year, never pulling in more than 7.5 million viewers a week and ranking a dismal 53 among viewers ages 18-49. But it remained one of the most-recorded-to-DVR shows on television and is known to attract more affluent "upscale" audiences with incomes of more than $100,000 a year.

Taylor is featured in a new Dockers ad in the March 2008 issue of GQ Magazine.

 

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