Scott Porter knows fans want many of his shows to come back in revival form, but why is he rooting for a Hart of Dixie continuation over a Friday Night Lights one?
“I don’t think Friday Night Lights is something that would have a continuation. I think what they’re doing with the Friday Night Lights reboot is going to continue to expand that universe,” Porter, 46, exclusively told Us Weekly after competing to raise money for Huntington’s Disease Society of America on Celebrity Weakest Link.
Porter is thrilled to see the upcoming reboot broaden the Friday Night Lights world, saying, “I don’t think it comes back to our characters. But I think Hart of Dixie is a show that could be picked up where it left off. We could jump forward 10 years and see where everybody is right now and I think that would be so much fun.”
He continued: “I would love to pick up where we left off on Hart of Dixie. That would be a show that I would love to jump back into because I think the world needs more shows like Hart of Dixie, right now especially.”
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Before his current gig on Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia, Porter played our favorite small town attorney George Tucker on Hart of Dixie. The CW series, which ran from 2011 to 2015, featured George in a love triangle with Zoe (Rachel Bilson) and Lemon (Jaime King) while Zoe also had a romance with Wade (Wilson Bethel).
And, of course, Porter won Us over as Jason Street on Friday Night Lights, which aired on NBC from 2006 to 2011 and followed a high school football team in a fictional Texas town. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton lead the cast of FNL, which helped skyrocket several people to fame including Taylor Kitsch, Zach Gilford, Minka Kelly, Jesse Plemons, Aimee Teegarden, Michael B. Jordan and more.
Despite having the time of his life on the Friday Night Lights set, Porter wasn’t sure whether he could reunite with his costars on new projects.
“It is 100 percent something that we think about and we talk about and we would love to do. But it’s also something that I think the industry is scared to pull the trigger on when you see these characters — who are so memorable for so many,” he told Us. “If you put Riggins and Saracen on a different show together, people are still just going to call them Riggins and Saracen and think about them as Friday Night Lights characters. They will be like, ‘This is weird and out of place.’ Even though we are actors and these guys are so versatile and these women are so incredibly varied in their talents.”
Porter isn’t ruling it out though.
“A few of us have worked together numerous times and it’s something that we all hope that we can do again. For me, it would be incredibly special because when I was on Friday Night Lights, I did not get to work with the main cast as much as you may think I did,” he recalled. “People are like, ‘Oh, Jason Street, he was one of the main cast. He was with those guys all the time.’ No, I wasn’t. I had to wait until episode 20 of season 1 to get back on a football field.”
He added: “I was kind of off in my own world so for me to get to work with them again might really be my first time to really ever get to work with them. So anytime I can beat the pavement for that to happen, I will and I hope it does.”
For now, Porter is filming season 4 of Ginny & Georgia, on which he plays Paul.
“Everybody that loves that small town slice of life kind of TV show with a little bit of danger in it, hopefully we’ll get the next season out to you guys a lot quicker than we have over our first three,” he told Us. “I know it’s a goal of everybody on board. We went through some tough times with COVID and the strikes but we’re on track now. We’re so excited to let everybody out there see what we’ve got cooking up in Wellsbury.”
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Porter also competed — and won — Celebrity Weakest Link earlier this month, in honor of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. (Huntington’s disease causes nerve cells in the brain to decay over time and affects a person’s movements, thinking ability and mental health, according to Mayo Clinic.)
“This was a win-win situation. I’m a competitor, I love games and I’ve watched the Weakest Link,” Porter told Us. “When they tell you that you can play for a charity of your choosing, it makes it even more meaningful. The cause I chose to play for is the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, which helps support families who are battling Huntington’s and helps to try and find a cure for this awful disease. I’ve been a part of raising millions of dollars for research and for supporting families who are battling it. The reason it’s so personal to me is my mother-in-law and my wife [Kelsey Mayfield] are both positive for Huntington’s.”
Porter has spent years raising awareness and money for a cure.
“My mother-in-law is symptomatic and my wife is what they call gene positive, which means the disease will be a part of our future unless we find a cure for it. So now — more than ever — after some announcements a couple of weeks ago, we’ve had some very, very promising and hopeful success within some trials in a way to limit the Huntington gene,” he added. “It’s just more important than ever to raise awareness, and raise money. When you go on a show like this, you’re not guaranteed to win but you are guaranteed to hopefully raise awareness of what Huntington’s actually is. It was something that was very meaningful to me and to go and compete made it even sweeter.”
For more information on Huntington’s disease — including ways to support and donate — head to hdsa.org.
Celebrity Weakest Link airs Mondays on Fox at 9 p.m. ET.
