Friday Night Lights Producer's New Project

This is probably the best news that will come out of today, and I'm totally OK with that. Executive producer and writer extraordinaire for some of the best shows ever Jason Katims, is coming to HBO. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Katims' new romantic drama pilot, Us, has been greenlit by the network. If you need context for just how amazing this news is, just note: Katims is responsible for About a Boy, Parenthood, the late '90s hit Roswell, and… wait for it… the esteemed and oh-so-incredible Friday Night Lights . CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN’T LOSE!

(Sorry. Whenever FNLis mentioned, I spontaneously start talking like a Panther.)

Katims’ new show sounds a little abstract still, but the gist of it is this: it’s about all of the tough and surprising ways we fall in love in today’s oh-so-connected — but still somehow so disconnected — world. There's no talk of characters, stars, or solid plot just yet, but that's OK — considering Katims' track record (and the fact that he's writing the pilot himself), I'm fairly certain that this show is going to be phenomenal. The last time Jason Katims wrote a script — the series finale of FNL — he won not only an Emmy award and a Peabody award, but the hearts of millions as well.

Like I said, there isn’t much word yet on what type of characters the series will include or who will play those parts, but I’m already crossing my fingers and toes and every strand of hair on my head that it will include one very special Panther, also known as Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch). On that note, actually, there are a lot of things from Friday Night Lights that I hope Katims’ new show includes. Other than everything.

Here are just a few of the Friday Night Lights-themed things I’m hoping the new show will include. Considering it’s a romantic drama, I'm hoping there’s a good chance that a lot of these suggestions could come true.

1. Tim Riggins

Yeah, yeah. I know this is unlikely, but Katims’ new show definitely sounds like it will include an ensemble cast — which means there has to be at least one brooding bad boy, right? DO IT FOR US, Katims! (Althernatively, getting Taylor Kitsch to join the cast would work.)

2. Real Relationships

Please no perfect love-at-first-sight nonsense or, on the other end of the spectrum, terribly matched, miserable couples. For instance, one of my favorite things about Friday Night Lights was Eric and Tami Taylor: They weren’t some perfect Leave It to Beaver family. They fought and struggled like any couple does, but they always supported each other through good and bad times. We needed more healthy couples portrayed on television, please!

3. Wine

Like, Tami Taylor amounts of wine.

4. The Cutest Couples Ever

By this, I mean cute couples like Matt Saracen and Julie Taylor, who were so sweet you felt like you were watching 42 minutes of puppies frolicking.

5. Adorkable Characters

The kind you just can’t help but fall in love with.

6. A Location Just As Important As The Characters Themselves

One of the most iconic things about Friday Night Lights is Texas itself. I’m hoping wherever Katims sets his latest show, it will be someplace with as much character as his scripts.

7. OK, If Not Tim Riggins... Then At Least Someone As Hot As Him

Please?

8. A Closer Look At Middle America

FNL first aired in 2006, long before the US went through a major financial meltdown between 2008 and 2011 — but, even so, it always kept a close eye on everyday people, and the struggles they faced. Considering what's going on in the world these days, a renewed look at normal, everyday people is so, so needed on TV.

9. Quotable Lines

Am I right?

10. GIF-able Moment

Really, I just want to be able to put snippets of this new show in my email signature and all over my Facebook page to show my fandom love. Work with me here, Katims, OK?

11. That Gritty Filming Style

One of the most important things about Friday Night Lights was actually the gritty, raw way in which it was filmed — it just made everything that happened on the show feel so real. Sure, this might have something more to do with the director of the show, but I’m hoping Katims can pull some weight as the writer AND producer of Us and make it happen

12. A Sense of Hope

Not to get too gushy over here, but that was the best thing about Friday Night Lights, wasn’t it? Not only was the drama always so real, but it consistently seemed to help its audience deal with their own lives. I swear every episode of that show was like an hour of therapy for me, and I’d be thrilled if Us felt like the same.

There’s no word yet on when Us will begin filming — and definitely no word yet on when it will grace our television screens. So, if you need me in the meantime, I’ll be in my sweatpants and Dillon Panthers T-shirt, watching reruns of Friday Night Lights until Katims’ new show comes out.

Images: NBC Universal; Giphy (12)