NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” exists in one of network TV’s most rarified niches. It’s one of those shows that, if seen strictly by the numbers, should long be a memory. But tomorrow night, May 7, 2010, it’ll be back on the Peacock for its season four premiere at 8 p.m. DREW WATERS podcast excerpt: "When season three was ending, I had no clue until the twelfth episode that I was taking over. Season four is not holding back any punches. It goes in hard." There aren’t many times that NBC has guessed right on quality programming in recent years. This is the network that renewed the hardcore cop show “Southland” for a second season then canceled it without airing a single episode of that order. And you know which company yanked the “Tonight Show” away from Conan O’Brien and gave it back to the shark-jumping Jay Leno. But in the case of “Lights,” NBC guessed right. It took on a partner, DirecTV, went for a shorter season commitment more in tune with a cable drama such as “Mad Men” or “Rescue Me,” and gave fresh life to a fan favorite. That, and it’s a show centered around high school football. In Texas. Hard to go wrong there. All of that makes my guest today, Drew Waters, a lucky man. He was not an actor on the show’s original network run, coming on board in a limited role after the show became one of the first network/satellite hybrids. In other words, if the NBC show died in its infancy, he would never have been on it. Drew Waters • • •