 The show is based on the 2004 film Friday Night Lights , which was in turn based on the 1990 non @-@ fiction book Friday Night Lights : A Town , a Team , and a Dream by H. G. Bissinger . Peter Berg , who is Bissinger 's cousin and who directed the film , wrote and directed the pilot episode , and served as executive producer for the series . While some of the actors from the movie returned to act on the show , most of the actors were cast specifically for the television series . 
