By Neia Balao
3:00am PST, Mar 6, 2023
_
Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose! If you were anything like us, you tuned in weekly to check in on the Dillon Panthers. From the brooding Tim Riggins to the prim-and-proper Lyla Garrity, it was hard to pick a favorite character on the NBC series "Friday Night Lights." "FNL" star Connie Britton — who played Tammy Taylor on the hit show — celebrates her 56th birthday on March 6, 2023, so join us as we celebrate by taking a look at what she and the other stars from the hit show, which ended in 2011, are up to now.
Keep reading for more…
MORE: Actors who've played football players
_
Following the conclusion of "Friday Night Lights" in 2011, Connie Britton — who earned two Emmy nominations for her work on the show — starred on the first season of FX's "American Horror Story" and returned for season 8, "Apocalypse." From 2012 to 2018, she portrayed country music singer-songwriter Rayna James on the hit ABC series "Nashville," delivering a performance that earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She also appeared on 2016's "American Crime Story," 2018's "9-1-1" and "Dirty John," the latter of which earned her yet another Golden Globe nod, and in 2021, she starred on the popular HBO Max anthology series "The White Lotus" before popping up in the Mila Kunis-led Netflix drama "The Luckiest Girl Alive" in 2022 and Apple TV+'s "Dear Edward" in 2023. Connie's also appeared in a few films since leaving "FNL" including "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," "Bombshell" and "Promising Young Woman."
The same year she wrapped "FNL," Connie became a mom, adopting son Eyob from Ethiopia. "I had no idea what I was even getting into, so it wasn't so much 'I can do this' as much as I knew that I wanted to be a mom," she told Andy Cohen on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2021. She's been in a relationship with "This Is Us" writer-producer David E. Windsor since 2021.
_
Aimee Teegarden played Julie Taylor, Eric and Tammy's studious daughter who's also Matt's love interest.
_
Since portraying the coach's daughter on "Friday Night Lights," Aimee Teegarden has most notably starred as Emery Whitehill on the short-lived CW series "Star-Crossed" in 2014. She also appeared on Netflix's "The Ranch" and ABC's "Notorious." In 2020, she starred in the film "Guest House" alongside Pauly Shore and in 2021, she appeared on an episode of "The Rookie" and in the Hallmark made-for-TV holiday film "My Christmas Family Tree." We'll see more TV movies from Aimee in the future: In 2022, she inked a multi-picture deal with Hallmark.
_
Zach Gilford played Matt Saracen, the quiet and artistic Dillon Panthers quarterback.
_
We love you, QB2! After starring on "Friday Night Lights," Zach Gilford appeared on television shows including "Grey's Anatomy" and landed main roles on the short-lived series "Off the Map" and "The Mob Doctor." In 2018, he appeared in the recurring role of Gregg on NBC's "Good Girls" and in 2021, he starred on the Netflix limited series "Midnight Mass." Since 2022, the actor's starred on "Criminal Minds."
Zach also found love! In 2012, he married actress Kiele Sanchez, whom he met making "The Matadors" in 2010. They worked together in 2014's "The Purge: Anarchy" and on DirecTV's "Kingdom" for two episodes in 2017, the same year they welcomed a daughter.
_
Kyle Chandler played Eric Taylor, the head coach of the Dillon Panthers high school football team.
_
Since leaving the role of Coach Taylor on NBC's "Friday Night Lights" — for which he won an Emmy in 2011 — Kyle Chandler has continued to rack up big acting credits. He's appeared in several films including "Argo," "The Wolf of Wall Street," "Carol," "Manchester by the Sea," "First Man" and "The Midnight Sky." From 2015 to 2017, he took on his first leading role on a television series since "FNL" concluded, playing John Rayburn on Netflix's "Bloodline." The performance earned him two Emmy nominations. In 2021, Kyle appeared in the film "Godzilla vs. Kong" and on an episode of Paramount+'s "Mayor of Kingstown." In 2022, he starred on the Showtime anthology series "Super Pumped" as real-life venture capitalist Bill Gurley. He's been married to Kathryn Macquarrie since 1995; they share two daughters.
_
Minka Kelly played good girl Lyla Garrity, while Scott Porter played the Dillon Panthers' former star quarterback Jason Street.
_
Goodbye, Miss Garrity! Following her breakout role on "Friday Night Lights," Minka Kelly landed a recurring role on another NBC series, "Parenthood," from 2010 to 2011. She went on to score leading roles on the short-lived series "Charlie's Angels" and "Almost Human." In addition to appearing on shows including "Man Seeking Woman," "Drunk History" and "Legends of Tomorrow," since 2018, Minka has portrayed Dawn Granger, aka Dove, on the DC superhero series "Titans." Minka's also appeared in several movies including "The Roommate," "Just Go With It" and "Night Hunter." In 2022, she appeared on four episodes of HBO's "Euphoria."
Minka is also still making headlines thanks to her love life: After romancing stars including actor Chris Evans, musician John Mayer, retired MLB star Derek Jeter and actor Jesse Williams, she found love with "The Daily Show" host and comedian Trevor Noah in 2020; the pair called it quits in 2022. By the end of 2022, Minka was dating a new star: Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds.
_
After portraying Jason Street on "Friday Night Lights," Scott Porter had a recurring role as Blake Calamar on "The Good Wife" and voiced Cyclops in "Marvel Anime: Wolverine" and "Marvel Anime: X-Men." Most notably, he starred as George Tucker on The CW's "Hart of Dixie" alongside Rachel Bilson from 2011 to 2015. He also appeared on TV shows including "Rosewood," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Charmed" and "Why Women Kill." In 2021, Scott landed roles on the Netflix hit "Ginny & Georgia" and the DC Comics series "Lucifer." In 2013, he married casting director Kelsey Mayfield. They have two kids, son McCoy and daughter Clover.
_
Adrianne Palicki played bad girl Tyra Collette, who romances Tim Riggins.
_
While there's no arguing that Tyra's character arc on "Friday Night Lights" was one of the show's greatest, we're happy to report that Adrianne Palicki has continued to find major success in showbiz since the show wrapped! In addition to appearing in notable films including "Legion," "Red Dawn," "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and "John Wick," Adrianne has also returned to the small screen. From 2014 to 2016, she played Bobbi Morse on ABC's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and since 2017, she's starred alongside Seth MacFarlane on FOX's sci-fi dramedy series "The Orville" as Commander Kelly Grayson. From 2007 to 2019, she also lent her voice to several characters on the Seth Green-created adult animated series "Robot Chicken." Adrianne was married to her "The Orville" co-star Scott Grimes from 2019 to 2020.
_
Taylor Kitsch played troubled Dillon Panthers running back Tim Riggins.
_
Sure, Taylor Kitsch captured our hearts as the tortured Tim Riggins, but that role merely marked the beginning of his career. Since the end of "Friday Night Lights," the Canadian actor has landed roles in films including "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," "John Carter," "Lone Survivor" and "21 Bridges." Taylor hasn't let go of his small screen beginnings — he starred as Paul Woodrugh on the second season of HBO's "True Detective" in 2015, appeared on the Paramount miniseries "Waco" in 2018 and starred on the Netflix series "The Defeated" in 2020. In 2022, he starred alongside Chris Pratt on season 1 of Amazon Prime Video's "The Terminal List."
_
Jesse Plemons played Landry Clarke, Matt's best friend and teammate on the Dillon Panthers.
_
Jesse Plemons' career blew up after he wrapped "Friday Night Lights." From 2012 to 2013, he he appeared on the fifth season of AMC's "Breaking Bad" — a performance that earned him his first Primetime Emmy nomination (he reprised the role in the 2019 TV movie "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie"). In 2015, Jesse starred on season 2 of FX's "Fargo." Two years later in 2017, he earned his second Emmy nom for his work on the "USS Callister" episode of Netflix's critically acclaimed anthology series "Black Mirror." Next, he'll star on the 2023 HBO Max miniseries "Love and Death" alongside Elizabeth Olsen. He's also appeared in a wide range of films including "The Post," "Game Night," "Vice," "The Irishman," "Judas and the Black Messiah," "Jungle Cruise" and "The Power of the Dog," in which he co-starred alongside real-life love Kirsten Dunst, whom he met on "Fargo" and married in 2022. His standout performance in "The Power of the Dog" earned him a best supporting actor Academy Award nomination in 2022, making him the first "FNL" alum to receive an Oscar nod! Jesse and Kirsten share two sons: Ennis (born in 2018) and James (born in 2021).
