'Friday Night Lights' plays on

NBC and DirecTV will keep "Friday Night Lights" burning for two more seasons.

The network and the satellite provider finished an agreement on Monday to bring back the show for two more seasons of 13 episodes each. As was the case this season, episodes will debut on DirecTV's 101 Network in the fall, then run on NBC later in the season. DirecTV also puts up a sizable portion of the production cost.

The network and DirecTV have been in talks about a renewal for a few weeks, with the final points getting completed on Monday.

The renewal comes despite very modest ratings on NBC; the show is averaging about 4 million viewers per week on NBC. "Friday Night Lights" is produced by the network's sister studio, Universal Media Studios, however, and the combination of the cost-sharing with DirecTV and the potential value to DVD sales and syndication with 76 episodes rather than 50 made it attractive enough to continue.

Leads Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton are expected to return. Several of the show's younger characters, including Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford), Tyra Collette (Adrianne Palicki) and Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly) are on track to graduate from Dillon High; it's not clear whether they'll return for any episodes next season.

"Friday Night Lights" ends its season on NBC Friday, April 10.

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