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Matt Saracen · Where he is now · 2026

Zach Gilford

The shy backup-turned-starting QB juggling football, caregiving and first love — the show's beating heart.

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Where he is now

From Dillon to Now

Matt Saracen was the beating heart of Friday Night Lights — the shy backup thrust into the spotlight while caring for his grandmother and falling for the coach's daughter. Zach Gilford made him impossibly easy to root for.

His biggest second act is Mike Flanagan's horror universe — the lead, Riley Flynn, in Netflix's Midnight Mass (2021), plus The Midnight Club and The Fall of the House of Usher. He also holds down a substantial role as Elias Voit in Criminal Minds: Evolution.

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Zach Gilford On Screen & In the Chair

The best interviews, clips and trailers — all public and embeddable straight from YouTube.

Saracen Breaks Down at the Taylors
Friday Night Lights
Matt & Julie final scene {Friday Night Lights 5x13 series finale}
Pea_rl
"Everybody Leaves Me!"
Friday Night Lights
Julie Reunites With Matt in Chicago
Friday Night Lights
Let's Talk About Sex
Friday Night Lights
Matt Saracen Proposes to Julie Taylor
Friday Night Lights

Video availability can change on YouTube; embeds are pulled from public, embeddable sources.

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Zach Gilford's work
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FNL: the complete series → Midnight Mass → The Fall of the House of Usher →

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