Sometimes, the underdog does win the big game. When the Emmy nominations rolled out this morning, the audience in the announcement room (and the editors here in TV Squad's office) gasped when the names Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton were read aloud.

The two deserving 'Friday Night Lights' stars have repeatedly made our Emmy snubs lists year after year. Despite turning in quietly commanding performances week after week for five seasons, they both seemed like long-shots to make the ballot. The series also garnered nominations for casting and writing (Rolin Jones for 'The Son' episode).

So after getting snubbed for years, what changed for 'Friday Night Lights' this time?

It might just be as simple as: More people saw the show. DirecTV, which aired season 4 last fall, blitzed members of the Academy with DVDs containing all 13 episodes. As GoldDerby.com noted, "Only rarely has an entire season of a series' episodes been shipped to voters." And in those cases -- with Showtime's 'Huff' and FX's 'Rescue Me' and 'The Shield' -- the campaigns were successful in gaining the series multiple nominations.

DirecTV's mass mailing may just have given 'Friday Night Lights' the exposure it needed, since the show is little-seen on NBC (last week's episode rated less than 4 million viewers). Still, the small-town family drama had some high-profile champions in the media. Our sister celebrity news site, Popeater.com, even created a Facebook campaign to get star Zach Gilford nominated as a guest actor. And we've never been quiet about our own love for 'Friday Night Lights' (watch Maggie Furlong, aka The Show Girl, gush here).

Watch 'Friday Night Lights' - 'The Son' Full Episode


But campaigns and word-of-mouth and outright bribery aren't everything. Sure, sending out the entire season on DVD to everybody in the Academy helps -- but only if the show is good. And 'Friday Night Lights' is one of the best shows on television, period. I'm outraged it didn't get on the Best Drama ballot ... but I guess we can't have it all. Still, I'm so happy for Britton and Chandler, possibly two of the most deserving actors out there. As Eric and Tami Taylor, they've created the finest, subtlest, most true-to-life portrayal of a married relationship on TV.

And there's always next year: The fifth and final season will air on DirecTV in the fall and on NBC sometime in 2011. Emmy voters have on more chance to give 'Friday Night Lights' an even bigger victory.

Clear eyes, full hearts ... can't lose!


Are you as pumped up as we are about the nominations for 'Friday Night Lights'?