5 Best Kyle Chandler TV Shows, Ranked

The highly anticipated TV series “Lanterns” premiered on HBO Max earlier this month, and with it, actor Kyle Chandler has another hit show on his hands. Chandler, who plays Hal Jordan on “Lanterns,” should be able to handle the pressure, though, as this is not his first time in the lead role of a popular TV show.

Chandler started his acting career in the late 1980s after being signed through ABC’s new talent program, picking up various roles in both film and television before he landed his first main role on the TV show “Homefront” in 1991. Chandler’s career truly began to take off in the 2000s after he was cast as Coach Eric Taylor in “Friday Night Lights.”

Many people may recognize Chandler from his infamous film roles, especially as part of the award-winning ensemble cast in 2012’s “Argo.” But in case you want to know more about Chandler’s TV work, we’ve ranked what we think are his top five TV shows below.

5. Grey’s Anatomy

Although Kyle Chandler was never part of the main cast of “Grey’s Anatomy,” his appearance on the show remains legendary. In fact, he ended up being nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his work as Dylan Young. “Grey’s” fans will recall that Chandler’s two episodes, “It’s the End of the World” and “As We Know It,” served as the ABC medical drama’s two-part Code Black event in which a patient arrived at the hospital with unexploded ammunition in his chest. 

Not only did Chandler excel at playing a no-nonsense bomb squad leader, but he also showed a softer side opposite Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo), who decided at the last minute to become responsible for stabilizing the bomb. Chandler later returned as Dylan Young in a Season 3 episode, albeit as a ghost.

4. Homefront

“Homefront” is one of those TV series that seems to have been lost to time, preserved only by the diehard fans who remember it. Nevertheless, it was a big break for Kyle Chandler, who starred as Jeff Metcalf. The series followed a group of families living in River Run, Ohio after World War II had ended, focusing on former soldiers struggling to adjust to civilian life. The series was nominated for several Emmys, but it struggled with ratings before being canceled in 1993.

Chandler’s role as Jeff was supposed to be a “hunky” love interest for Ginger Szabo (played by Tammy Lauren), but Chandler told the New York Post in 1996 that he was hesitant to think of himself as a steamy leading man. (We, however, have no problem doing so.)

3. Early Edition

The definition of a cult classic, “Early Edition” was Kyle Chandler’s breakout TV series that aired on CBS from 1996 to 2000. Chandler starred as Gary Hobson, a man who mysteriously received daily newspapers from the future and was tasked with preventing certain tragedies from occurring. CBS even had plans to reboot the show in 2022 , but the network ultimately decided not to move forward with it.

Chandler received a Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actor in 1997 for his solid and sometimes humorous work as the often helpless normie Gary. Chandler also credits “Early Edition” as the show that allowed him to contribute to all aspects of production, including being able to fax over ideas he had for script changes, per an interview with Collider.

2. Bloodline

One of the better Netflix dramas released in the 2010s, “Bloodline” followed the dark family drama of the Rayburns. Kyle Chandler starred as morally upright Rayburn sibling John, who was also the town sheriff. His self-righteousness began to unravel over the course of the series as John went to increasingly dangerous lengths to protect the reputation of the family.

For his work on “Bloodline,” Chandler was nominated for two Emmy awards for Outstanding Lead Actor on “Bloodline,” first in 2015 and again in 2016. Chandler subverted his typical casting as the main hero (especially after his role as Coach Taylor in “Friday Night Lights”), truly demonstrating his wide range as an actor. Chandler also had great on-screen chemistry with actor Ben Mendelsohn, who played John’s older brother Danny.

1. Friday Night Lights

No one should be surprised that Kyle Chandler’s best work to date was as Coach Taylor on “Friday Night Lights.” Not only did the role earn Chandler his one and only Emmy win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, but it also solidified Chandler as an iconic TV dad.

Beyond that, Chandler avoided a lot of the angry coach cliches in his performance, instead playing Coach Taylor as fairly introspective and soft-spoken. As for commitment, Chandler even joked that he was willing to drink a tumbler of scotch a day to help make his character appear “old and tired,” per the instruction of executive producer Peter Berg. (He didn’t actually do it, but we’d happily raise a glass to Coach Taylor any day.)