Connie Britton Reveals Why Her Friday Night Lights Character Tami Taylor Was Her Favorite Onscreen Mother to Play (Exclusive)

When it comes to onscreen characters, Connie Britton has one she holds close to her heart.

PEOPLE caught up with the actress, 58, at the Connie Britton & Hallmark Channel’s The Motherhood Luncheon on Thursday, May 1, which celebrated the new series premiering on the Hallmark Channel on Monday, May 5, and streaming the next day on Hallmark+.

During the event, Britton, who has famously played a mom on many projects, including the 2024 thriller Here After, revealed to PEOPLE which parental figure has been her favorite.

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“I love them all as if they were all my friends. Some were more dysfunctional than others. You know what, I’m so partial to Tami Taylor,” says Britton, referencing her Friday Night Lights character.

As fans recall, Britton first had a small role in the 2004 Friday Night Lights movie before playing Tami on the series that ran for five seasons from 2006 to 2011.

Britton says that role was “a special one” for her because it was “a special show.”

“It was definitely a moment in time where I learned so much as an actress. I learned kind of how I wanted to work,” says Britton.

“And also it was an important time actually, it contributed to this show too because that was the first time as an actress that I recognized that the work we do in playing our characters can actually impact people and that our audiences can see themselves and the characters that we play,” she adds. “And I think that the learning that has helped me to bring me to this show.”

She hopes to inspire people the same way in Hallmark’s The Motherhood, which finds Angela Rose, Destini Ann and Taryn Hicks helping single mothers “create more balanced and fulfilling lives for themselves and their families,” per a synopsis.

“It made me realize, oh gosh, if I could do that within this format, I’m hoping that I can really create in real time a motherhood and a community that people could actually join and also really change the cultural conversation around single moms and single parents,” Britton tells PEOPLE.

Britton, a mom to teenage son, Yoby, whom she adopted in 2011 from Ethiopia, also shares with PEOPLE her plans for Mother’s Day.

“I’m definitely going to lunch with at least one friend and her kids. I don’t know, we’re gonna have a really fun lunch plan. And also it’s my son’s piano recital,” she says. “So we’re gonna have a Mother’s Day piano recital, which is also awesome ’cause he has so many, he takes piano with a lot of his friends.”

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“And so I’ll be there with all those kids and those moms,” continues Britton. “So it will definitely be a day devoted to exactly what the show is about, which is community and all of us being together as parents, raising our kids together and filling our lives with joy and support and all the things.”