'Friday Night Lights' renewed

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., March 31 (UPI) -- The U.S. football drama "Friday Night Lights" has been renewed through its fifth season in 2011, NBC Universal and Directv said Tuesday.

The companies said the partnership that began last year will continue as 26 new episodes will be produced with 13 installments airing during each of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

The new episodes will air first on Directv and then subsequently on NBC.

Directv would have exclusive rights to the 13 new episodes for each of the series' fourth and fifth seasons on Directv's entertainment channel "The 101 Network."

Last year's arrangement provided for 13 new episodes to be produced.

Specific broadcast dates for the new installments on both NBC and Directv will be announced later, the companies said.

The announcement was made by Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, and Eric Shanks, executive vice president of entertainment for Directv.

"We're proud that a deal for the renewal of 'Friday Night Lights' has been reached," Silverman said in a statement. "It is one of the best shows in the history of television and we've worked hard to keep it alive for future seasons. NBC Universal has been at the forefront of creative deals such as these, which ultimately benefit audiences, critics and advertisers alike."