The fourth season of Friday Night Lights will feature a number of new characters, as viewers were introduced to Vince Howard on this week’s premiere.

But fan favorites such as Saracen and Riggins are still around. What will they be up to this season? Producer Jason Katims spoke on these
characters and more in a new interview with E! News…

On the future of Riggins: One of the things we’ve always talked about for Tim is he might be a guy who winds up in Dillon for life, but not necessarily in a sad way or tragic way. That’s one of the notions that I’ve always liked, was the idea that maybe at the end of the show he might be one of the few people who end up in Dillon, but not in the way that “He never got out of the small town,” but more in a way that “He loves that town and wants to embrace it.”

On the return of Lyla: She comes back for at least two episodes this year, so far, visiting from college… she and Tim sort of rekindle their relationship and try to figure out what to do about that… they maybe realize it’s not so easy to move on.

On Buddy’s dilemma: Buddy certainly starts out a Panther - but things happen along the way that make him question his allegiance to the Panthers. Are they still the Panthers at all? And he also has a deep friendship and bond with Coach Taylor, so his journey this season is about which side is he on.

On Saracen’s decision to remain in Dillon: That’s very much a story this season, not only about his grandmother but his relationship with Julie. It’s a story about somebody who has made a lot of choices about making those around him happy and then what comes into question for him is what is right for him?

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When Friday Night Lights returns for a fourth season, Tyra will be in college. While actress Adrianne Palicki might make a mid-season return, she’ll have her hands full with Supernatural events in the meantime.

But, don’t worry Landry fans, your man won’t just sit around and pine for her. The character will be involved in a love triangle when the series kicks off on DirecTV on October 28.

According to TV Guide Magazine, Landry will fight over the same girl with African-American teammate Vince (played by Michael B. Jordan). The female in question? Jess (Jurnee Smollett), who works with her dad at a local hangout.

“It’s good to see mixed couples on TV,” Jesse Plemons said. “The last girl I dated [in real life] was mixed race. Texas has come a long way, but there’s still racism.”

A Friday Night Lights insider tells me the addition of pretty newcomer Madison Burge as Becky the beauty pageant princess will cause scandal in a storyline involving Tami Taylor and Tim Riggins. That’s an interesting threesome, ain’t it?

Becky comes from a working class family and is raised by a single mom. She uses her looks to get what she wants. And when that fails, she can always fall back on her charm and humor. It’s logical to assume that Tami will be her principal. But since Becky’s only fifteen, what could she possibly be doing with Tim Riggins?

With the return of Friday Night Lights right around the corner, discussion has centered on how the critically acclaimed NBC and DirecTV series will wrap up the story lines of all the kids who graduated from Dillon High School and are now going to college.

Not even the actors know the answer to that.

Jesse Plemons (Landry Clarke) revealed that the cast isn’t even shooting the new season until the beginning of September. Until then, all we can do is speculate.

“They kind of left everything up in the air,” said Plemons. “I think Tyra’s not going to be there the first season, but she might be there the second (of the two remaining).”

He joked, “Maybe we’ll be texting back and forth, or I’ll get an email from Tyra.”

As for the show’s storybook romance, Aimee Teegarden has high hopes for Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) and her character, Julie in Season 4 of Friday Night Lights:

“I do [want to see them together]. There’s something special and sweet about Julie and Matt’s relationship that it has to stay together, or else I feel like we’ll have a lot of upset fans.”

“Hopefully Matt breaks up with Julie though, so fans can’t blame me.”

While no guest stars for Friday Night Lights‘ upcoming fourth season have been set yet, Connie Britton admitted she’s already campaigning for a visit by her friend Ron Perlman, whom fans of FX’s Sons of Anarchy know needs no introduction.

“It would be so fun if he came in and was some awful coach, a really hardass coach,” Connie said in an interview with E!. “Of course, Ron is busy doing Sons of Anarchy.”

Connie also said she would love to show up on Friday Night Lights executive producer Jason Katims’ new NBC show Parenthood, but scheduling conflicts won’t allow it.

Similarly, the outstanding actress who plays Tami Taylor said. “At some point they were talking to me about doing some stuff on Californication, which I would really love. It couldn’t work out, scheduling-wise, but if it ever did, it would be fun.”

As we’ve previously reported, Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen) will not return as a series regular next season on Friday Night Lights. Nor will Minka Kelly (Lyla Garrity), following in the footsteps of Gaius Charles (Smash) and Scott Porter (Jason), who left town.

As for Zach, how long will he be around before bidding farewell?

Michael Ausiello of EW says about five episodes, but possibly more. That’s not bad considering the whole season is 13, and it should give him ample time for an awesome goodbye story line.

We’re gonna miss Matt, but he would want to leave Dillon.

A rather glorious thing happened in March, when TV’s acclaimed if undersampled Friday Night Lights was renewed for not one but two more seasons. Although the series’ NBC return is a small eternity away (summer 2010) and its DirecTV premiere is still “TBD,” we tackled the opportunity to speak with Connie Britton about Tami’s “roller coaster” past, and apparently finite future.

TVGuide.com: I want you to know that my wife got hooked on Friday Night Lights this past season — and I think it’s largely due to the tactile and real performances given by you, Kyle Chandler, et al.
Connie Britton: Aw, that’s so awesome! That’s what I’m talking about, that’s what we need to do.

TVGuide.com: Hey, every head counts. What was your favorite thing about playing Tami last year?
Britton: For me, it felt like a roller coaster. The whole aspect of being principal was really interesting, because when I first heard about that, I was heady with power! I was like, “This is the be-all and end-all,” Kyle was jealous. … It was fantastic. And then they were like, “Yeah, but you’re going to have a huge head-to-head issue with Buddy, and ultimately you’ll lose.” [Laughs] I was like, “No fair!”

TVGuide.com: What are the odds that Tami and Eric will be working at rival Dillon high schools next season?
Britton: Knowing our writers, I bet that’s the way they’ll go, because that will be so interesting and challenging. And that’s how we do it at Friday Night Lights.

TVGuide.com: Last season we said sad goodbyes to both Smash and Jason…
Britton: C’mon, admit it, you cried during those episodes.

TVGuide.com: Maybe. Will Season 4 serve up anything similar for Matt (Zach Gilford), Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) or Lyla (Minka Kelly), all of whom could be heading off to college?
Britton: The writers just now are concocting their story ideas, but I would think they do a little arc for all those characters — or at least the ones they can. All these actors are going off and doing awesome movies and stuff. We are the farm team for Hollywood, with our actors, our writers, our director…. It’s crazy.

TVGuide.com: Executive producers Jason Katims and Jeffrey Reiner have gone off to do other projects (NBC’s Parenthood and Trauma, respectively). How might their absences affect the mood on the set?
Britton: I don’t think it will be different at all. We’ll have some different players on the team, but we also will have a lot of the same players. There’s Michael Waxman, who was our First [Assistant Director] for a long time before starting to direct some episodes, and we just love him. I think he’s going to be picking up some of the Jeff Reiner slack.

TVGuide.com: Plus you’re going into this transition as one of the business’ best-oiled machines.
Britton: I really do think that’s true. We’ve always attributed the success and greatness of Friday Night Lights to its process, and that involves every single person, from every department.

TVGuide.com: What was the thinking behind a two-season pick-up? Was it financial?
Britton: I’m not involved in all those negotiations, but if I had to guess, the only reason somebody would do a two-season pick-up is if there’s a financial advantage. It impacts syndication, packaging….

TVGuide.com: So are you shooting Seasons 4 and 5 back-to-back? That’d be cost-effective.
Britton: No, I think there will be a little break between seasons, if for no other reason than to let the writers regroup.

TVGuide.com: Did you have your hand slapped at all for telling EW.com that after these next two seasons, the show is done?
Britton: No! I don’t think I’m out of bounds in saying that. I think that is the intention.

TVGuide.com: Hey, end dates are the new black — everybody is doing them.
Britton: Exactly, and we are all looking at it as an advantage. One of the things that’s so hard about TV is that time at the end of the season where it’s a guessing game of, “Will we ever see each other again?” That’s tough, man. So for us to have the luxury of knowing what we have in front of us and, frankly, knowing when we get to say goodbye, is great. Listen, if the show suddenly started making phenomenal amounts of money and gets phenomenal ratings and they’re like, “Let’s keep it going,” that would be great. But I have a feeling that this is a really good way to be really specific with stories.

The Friday Night Lights cast is currently in flux, as usual. Who’s still on it? Who’s leaving? Who’s in, but only for a farewell story arc a la Gaius Charles and Scott Porter?

Here’s the scoop on the new season of Friday Night Lights, which returns in the fall on DirecTV for Season Four, which will then air on NBC beginning in January 2010.

EW says the following all-stars will be back as full-time cast members: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Jesse Plemons, Taylor Kitsch, Aimee Teegarden, Jeremy Sumpter.

Meanwhile, these regulars for the first three seasons are moving up and moving on, but will be back for farewell acts: Adrianne Palicki, Minka Kelly, and Zach Gilford.

How do I love Friday Night Lights’ resplendent, Emmy-worthy leading lady (and Ausiello TV guest) Connie Britton? Let me count the ways…

1) She modifies her summer travel plans in order to appear on my fledgling web series.
2) She breaks major freakin’ news about FNL likely ending in 2011: “I think the intention is to do two more seasons and then that will be it.”
3) She says funny things that make me giggle. Like this: “I’m pretty sure in the next two seasons there’s a very strong possibility that Tami will have an affair with a student.”
4) She humors me when I offer her Emmy submission advice (and video evidence to back it up).
5) She breaks major freakin’ news about who will and won’t be back full time in season 4.

I could go on forever… or I could just direct you to our exclusive video Q&A after the jump. My typing skills suck so let’s go with option B. Enjoy!

Talk about a big break for Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch, at least for the movies. After a quick turn as Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he is set to take the much-coveted lead role in the upcoming Disney action flick John Carter from Mars.

The film, adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ book series, will be directed by Andrew Stanton. This marks his first live-action feature, after working on two of Pixar’s most acclaimed animated releases, Finding Nemo and last year’s critical darling WALL-E. This film revolves around a civil war veteran who finds himself transported to Mars all of a sudden–and ends up being involved in a war between races there.

The role is a big one for Kitsch: Disney, which hopes to turn the film into another franchise like the Pirates of the Caribbean series, spent quite a while auditioning young actors for the role. Jon Hamm and Josh Duhamel were among those who the studio considered, but Kitsch was ultimately selected, thanks to his work on FNL as well as his recent movie work.

Also taking a role in the film is his co-star in X-Men Origins, Lynn Collins. The former True Blood star is set to appear as Dejah Thoris, the heir to one of the kingdoms in Mars.

The film is slated to begin production early next year, although no release date is planned as of the moment.