In 2006, Hudgins moved to the NBC show Friday Night Lights as a writer and Supervising Producer, writing the episodes "Homecoming", "Upping The Ante", and "Mud Bowl".
He was nominated along with the rest of the show's writing staff for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best New Series at the February 2007 ceremony for his work on the first season of Friday Night Lights.
He was nominated for the WGA Award for Best Dramatic Series the following year at the February 2008 ceremony for his work on the second season of Friday Night Lights.
[5] He also won a Peabody Award for Excellence in Television in 2011[6] and in Season 5, when he was Co-Showrunner, Friday Night Lights was nominated for an Emmy for Best Drama Series.
[10] He also signed a deal to develop Greg Iles' novel Natchez Burning into a television series for Amazon, with Tobey Maguire as executive producer.
[10] Hudgins is a frequent guest speaker,[11] and delivered the keynote address at The Presbyterian HealthCare Foundation's "Each Moment Matters" luncheon that celebrated the opening of the T. Boone Pickens Hospice and Palliative Care Center in Dallas, Texas.