It wasn't too long ago that HBO pulled the plug on the surfer drama, John from Cincinnati. However, fans of the show's star, Austin Nichols, can continue to get their fix thanks to his new stint on Friday Night Lights.
Nichols, whose multi-episode arc began last Friday, plays Noah Barnett, a new teacher at Dillon High who forms a bond with Julie Taylor (Aimee Teegarden), the teenage daughter of guidance counselor Tami Taylor (Connie Britton).
In an interview with TV Guide, Nichols said his character's relationship with Julie may go beyond what's considered appropriate student-teacher relations.
"In the beginning, my character doesn't even realize that he's overstepping boundaries," Austin Nichols said. "Or if he does, he chooses to ignore them. It's blatant that he's crossing the line, but he doesn't feel any remorse until later."
Austin Nichols as teacher Noah Barnett in "Pantherama!"
The 27-year-old also said that even if it might seem out of character for Julie to get involved with an older man, the fact that she's going through very real issues is enough to drive her to do something unexpected.
"Well, what's great about the show is that Julie is definitely sweet but, like all of the characters, she is so complicated," Austin Nichols said. "She is emotional and just going nuts with adolescence, fighting with her parents... It's so real."
Aside from having an array of complicated characters, Nichols, a native of Austin, Texas, where the show is filmed, said that Friday Night Lights has successfully captured the essence of small-town Texan football culture.
"I had never seen it, though I had heard it was great, and then they offered me this character. I watched a bunch of episodes and was in tears," he said.
"The show resonated with me so much because I lived in that world and know about it, but it probably resonates for anybody who watches it. They nail it."
Although Nichols has finished filming his stint on Friday Night Lights, his fans can rejoice in knowing that the actor may return to the series again.
"I'm done for now, but I've heard they want to bring me back," he said. "I think it's in the works that Noah will come back."
Friday Night Lights has a new recruit in Aaron Garza, a former Texas high school football star and current minor league baseball player scheduled to appear on the critically acclaimed NBC drama next month, BuddyTV reports.
