“Felicity’s” Midseason Cliffhanger Set For Wednesday, December 13

(December 6, 2000 – Burbank, CA) — With the first leg of its creative programming strategy for the Wednesday, 9:00 p.m. timeslot a resounding success, The WB will air a cliffhanger “FELICITY” “Winter Finale” on Wednesday, December 13, and will debut second season romantic comedy “JACK & JILL” on January 10, 2001, taking “FELICITY” off the schedule to return with new episodes in April 2001, it was announced today by Susanne Daniels, President, Entertainment for The WB. As announced last May, The WB has implemented a programming strategy that has “FELICITY” and “JACK & JILL” airing all original episodes of the series while sharing the coveted Wednesday, 9:00 p.m. night timeslot following “DAWSON’S CREEK.” The plan was to minimize the viewer drop-off that occurs with repeat episodes. And the plan is working. “FELICITY” has notched 53%, +41% and +70% year-to-year timeslot increases in adults 18-34 (2.9), women 18-34 (4.1) and men 18-34 (1.7). “The strategy of airing all original episodes of ‘Felicity’ has proven to be a resounding success with viewers, advertisers and in the ratings,” said Ms. Daniels. “The new episodes of ‘Jack & Jill’ are a great timeslot companion for ‘Felicity’ fans and we expect ‘Jack & Jill’ to build its audience, just as ‘Felicity’ did this season.” Airing December 13, the “FELICITY” “Winter Finale” episode is a holiday-themed cliffhanger that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats as Felicity (Keri Russell) and the girls plan a holiday bash fated for disaster. “JACK & JILL,” starring “The Whole Nine Yards” scene-stealer Amanda Peet opposite Ivan Sergei, is set to debut its new season on Wednesday, January 10 with 13 consecutive original episodes. Last season, “JACK & JILL” aired on Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. The WB will use special stunts to air in the post-“DAWSON’S CREEK” time period for the three Wednesdays between “FELICITY” and “JACK & JILL.” A moving two-part Christmas special of “GILMORE GIRLS” will begin on Wednesday, December 20 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET) and the conclusion airs in the series’ regular time period on Thursday, December 21 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET). Recently named “Best New Drama” by Viewers for Quality Television, “GILMORE GIRLS” centers on 32-year-old Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her 16-year-old daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) in a humorous, heartfelt, multi-generational drama about friendship, family and the ties that bind. The WB’s viewers will get four extra servings of the Darren Star comedy “GROSSE POINTE” this holiday season, with back-to-back episodes airing on Wednesday, December 27 and Wednesday, January 3 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET). A satirical half-hour comedy that chronicles what really goes on behind the scenes of “television’s hottest teen drama,” “GROSSE POINTE” will continue to air on Sunday nights at 9:30 p.m. ET. Averaging over 4 million viewers per episode this season and bringing solid season-to-date growth to the time period, “FELICITY” has been a success story this fall for The WB. The college-set drama is up +27% in rating versus last year’s time period in adults 18-34 (2.8/8) and has built +33% in rating among women 18-34 (4.0/10). “FELICITY” outpaced last year's sweep performance in November 1999, when it aired on Sunday nights, by a wide margin in nearly every demographic. Most incredibly, “The West Wing” averages 14 million more viewers than “FELICITY,” but the shows are almost neck and neck in reaching women 18-34 (4.2 to 5.0). Executive produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Tony Krantz, J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves and John Eisendrath, “FELICITY” is from Imagine Television in association with Touchstone Television. Executive produced by Mark Canton and Mike Pavone, “JACK & JILL” is from The Canton Company in association with Warner Bros. Television. # # #