13 November 2000
By Donna Petrozzello
| Six months ago, the WB announced it would try to keep ratings momentum going for its shows Felicity and Jack
& Jill by alternating blocks of original episodes of both on Wednesdays this fall.
Last Wednesday, Felicity locked in a strong start to the season when it grabbed its largest audience of women ages 18-34 since its debut two years ago. Felicity's ratings peak - tallied at a 5.0 rating (percentage of the nation's 102 million homes tuned in), according to Nielsen data - also contributed to a 42% ratings gain for the WB for the first week of November sweeps this year over the same period last year, according to Nielsen. That's all good news to Felicity cocreator J.J. Abrams, who says the growing audience has encouraged him to write shows that tackle weightier issues than the series has handled in the past. This week's show is an example, says Abrams. He sets up Felicity star Keri Russell in an uncomfortable encounter with guest star John Ritter (Three's Company). Ritter returns as the father of Felicity's boyfriend Ben (Scott Speedman) and makes a romantic pass at his son's girlfriend. Abrams considers the disturbing plot line "a perfect story to reveal how Ben feels about his dad and how Ben and Felicity will get through a crisis," he said. "It's painful to watch, but unfortunately for some women, it's a familiar situation." Abrams also plans to script major stories around other cast members, "so that Felicity doesn't have to carry the show as much" this season. "I think the cast will work more as an ensemble this year, and make them more like a surrogate family to Ben and Felicity. They'll be working together more, as if it's the two of them against the world." By writing disturbing and dramatic twists into Felicity, the show's scribes will try to rejuvenate the college-set coming-of-age drama. Ratings sagged last season - one reason cited is that Russell, a first-year breakout star, cut off her long curls. The show averaged just 2.9 million viewers on Sunday night its second year compared with 4.4 million in its freshman season on Wednesdays. One result: WB agreed to bring back the show to Wednesdays, but forced it to share a time slot. If the WB's plans hold steady, Felicity will air in original episodes through December, when the show will sign off for the winter with a cliffhanger. Starting in January, the WB will slip 13 original episodes of Jack & Jill, a romantic comedy that debuted last summer, into the Wednesday 9 p.m. slot. Then around April, it's back to Felicity originals through the end of the season. |