Why "Friday Night Lights" defined Texas forever

Driving the news: Six cast members kicked off the show's 20th anniversary tour in Dallas last week, sharing how it continues to shape their lives.

The intrigue: Cast member Stacey Oristano said service members once told her they gathered around a small DVD player in a submarine to watch "Friday Night Lights."

• "We've had people that watched it during chemo to get through the hours, and the one thing that they tell me is, 'It made me feel less alone,'" Oristano said.

Fun fact: Brad Leland, who played football booster Buddy Garrity, grew up in Plano and was on the Plano Wildcats' championship-winning football team in the 1970s.

• Liz Mikel, who played running back Brian "Smash" Williams' mother, grew up in Oak Cliff and performs with the Dallas Theater Center.
• "This show has been all over the world, and everybody understands it because they grew up — they had boyfriends, girlfriends, teachers, coaches and problems. And so it's not about Texas high school football," Leland said.

Zoom out: Many cast members fell in love with Austin after filming in the area and lived there after the show wrapped.

• Adrianne Palicki, who played Tyra Collette on the show, said she moved to Austin in 2006 because of its quirkiness. While the city has changed a lot since then, Palicki has a tight web of friends who live close by and drop by her house often.
• "I just loved being in this place that was so warm and loving and like a big hug, on top of the food culture and being outdoors. It was not what I imagined Texas to be like," she tells Axios.

Reality check: Don't get your hopes up over a potential reunion season. The cast members are split on whether they want the show to be revived.