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S1E01 · Season 1
Pilot
2006 · Dillon, Texas
The Episode
New coach Eric Taylor leads the Dillon Panthers into a season of impossible expectations — until a hit on the field changes everything for star QB Jason Street.
TV Reviewer's Take
The episode that started it all: shot like a documentary, acted like real life, and built on the single gut-punch that reframes the whole series. It announces a show less about football than about a town, a marriage, and the people the game leaves behind.
Critics' Corner
“if the season is anything like the pilot, this new drama about high school football could be great — and not just television great, but great in the way of a poem or painting.”Virginia Heffernan, The New York Times
“the feel for the high stakes attached to small-market school sports, the knowing take on the high-school caste system, and the details of family life.”Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club