''Once and Again'' is an American family drama television series that aired on ABC from September 21, 1999, to April 15, 2002. It depicts the family of a single mother and her romance with a single father. It was created by Marshall Herskovitz and

Edward Zwick Edward M. Zwick (born October 8, 1952) is an American filmmaker and producer of film and television. He has worked primarily in the comedy drama and epic historical film genres, including ''About Last Night, Glory, Legends of the Fall,'' and ...

. One of the show's unique aspects was the "interview" sequences filmed in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

and interspersed throughout each episode, where the characters would reveal their innermost thoughts and memories to the camera.

Premise

Lily Manning ( Sela Ward) is a suburban soccer mom in her forties, who lives in

Deerfield, Illinois Deerfield is a north shore suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion extending into Cook County, Illinois. The population was 19,196 at the 2020 census. Deerfield is home to the headquarters of Walgreens B ...

. Recently separated from her philandering husband Jake ( Jeffrey Nordling), Lily is raising her two daughters, insecure, anxiety-ridden 14-year-old Grace ( Julia Whelan), and precocious nine-year-old Zoe ( Meredith Deane). For support, she turns to her more free-spirited younger sister, Judy ( Marin Hinkle), with whom she works at their bookstore called My Sister's Bookstore (renamed Booklovers later in the series). Lily's life changes when, during the pilot episode, she meets Rick Sammler (

Billy Campbell William Oliver Campbell (born July 7, 1959) is an American film and television actor. He first gained recognition for his recurring role as Luke Fuller in the TV series '' Dynasty''. Then he became known for playing Rick Sammler on ''Once and ...

) in the principal's office of Grace's school,

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in sever ...

High School. Rick is a single father and co-head of an architectural firm, Sammler/Cassili Associates, which is located in downtown

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. Rick has been divorced from his uptight ex-wife Karen ( Susanna Thompson) for three years and has two children, Eli (

Shane West Shannon Bruce Snaith (born June 10, 1978), better known as Shane West, is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He is known for his portrayal of Eli Sammler in the ABC family drama '' Once and Again'', Landon Carter in '' A Walk to Remembe ...

), a 16-year-old

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player at Sinclair High who suffers from a learning disability, and sensitive 12-year-old Jessie (

Evan Rachel Wood Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress and activist. She is the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations for her work i ...

), who longs for the days before her family's disintegration. Lily and Rick share an immediate mutual attraction and begin dating. Their budding relationship causes problems in both of their respective families. Grace strongly objects to Lily and Rick's relationship as she still hopes to see her parents get back together. Karen, a public interest attorney at the downtown law firm of Harris, Riegert, and Sammler, is worried about the toll Rick's new relationship would take on their children, particularly Jessie, who is shy and emotionally fragile. She is also working through her own feelings of jealousy that Rick is moving on to a new relationship. In addition to Lily and Rick's relationship, the show also focused to a lesser degree on their exes, Jake and Karen, and their own struggles to move on in a post-divorce environment.

Plot summary

Season 1

Lily is in the process of divorcing her restaurateur husband, Jake. She is reluctant to begin dating again due to the sensitivities of her daughters, who are still emotional about the divorce. She meets and is instantly attracted to divorced architect Rick Sammler. However, their new relationship is complicated by Lily's many remaining emotional and financial issues with Jake. Grace and Eli become close when she becomes his tutor. Judy has a relationship with Rick's friend, Sam Blue ( Steven Weber) before discovering Sam is married.

Season 2

Lily and Jake's divorce is finalized and she hopes to spend more time with Rick. However, Rick becomes sidetracked by difficulties at work and has to begin working with unscrupulous developer Miles Drentell (

David Clennon David Clennon (born May 10, 1943) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Miles Drentell in the ABC series '' thirtysomething'' and ''Once and Again'', as well as his role as Palmer in the John Carpenter film '' The Thing''. He ...

, reprising his role from the series '' thirtysomething''). Things become difficult for Lily when Rick's project runs into legal difficulties and his ex-wife Karen is hired to represent the opposition. Jessie flirts with an eating disorder and begins to address her problems with the help of a therapist (played by show producer

). Jake's girlfriend Tiffany announces she is pregnant. At the end of season two, Rick has to dissolve his architectural firm, and Lily and Rick get married.

Season 3

Rick resumes his partnership with Sam Blue, now divorced, to design a hotel for a new client. Sam and Judy try to be friends but eventually resume their romantic relationship. Jake and Tiffany have a baby girl and eventually decide to get married. Grace develops a crush on her English teacher, Mr. Dimitri (

Eric Stoltz Eric Cameron Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He played the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film ''Mask'', which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Suppor ...

); although their relationship never became sexual, an investigation eventually forces Mr. Dimitri to leave the school. Meanwhile, Jessie discovers she is attracted to another girl: upperclassman Katie Singer (

Mischa Barton Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born 24 January 1986) is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's '' Slavs!'' and took the lead in James Lapine's ''Twelve Dreams'' at Ne ...

), and after Katie acknowledges her own romantic feelings towards Jessie with a love letter, the two girls quietly begin dating while hiding their romance from everyone, in what became the first teen lesbian romance on American network television. Karen deals with her depression; just as she is starting to make progress, she is hit by a car, leading to months of painful rehabilitation where she meets physical therapist Henry Higgins (

D. B. Woodside David Bryan Woodside (born July 25, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as the bass singer Melvin Franklin in ''The Temptations'', Robin Wood in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', Malcolm Franks in '' Single Ladies'' ...

). Lily faces more painful domestic struggles when her mother begins to show signs of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

and her brother Aaron ( Patrick Dempsey), who is schizophrenic, wants to move in with his girlfriend. By the end of the season, Rick and Lily face big decisions when he is offered a job in Australia and she is offered a nationally syndicated radio show. Their decisions are never shown, but in the last moments of the series finale, Lily reveals she is pregnant and everyone comes together to attend Jake and Tiffany's wedding.

Cast

Main

* Sela Ward as Lily Manning: Grace and Zoe's mother, separated from Jake *

as Rick Sammler: Eli and Jessie's father, divorced from Karen * Jeffrey Nordling as Jake Manning: Lily's estranged husband, Grace and Zoe's father * Susanna Thompson as Karen Sammler: Rick's ex-wife, Eli and Jessie's mother *

as Eli Sammler: Rick's son * Julia Whelan as Grace Manning: Lily's elder daughter *

as Jessie Sammler: Rick's daughter * Meredith Deane as Zoe Manning: Lily's younger daughter * Marin Hinkle as Judy Brooks: Lily's younger sister *

Todd Field William Todd Field (born February 24, 1964) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for directing three feature films: ''In the Bedroom'' (2001), '' Little Children'' (2006), and ''Tár'' (2022). He has received three Academy Award nomi ...

as David Cassilli (season 2; recurring season 1): Rick's business partner and friend * Ever Carradine as Tiffany Porter (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1): Jake's mistress/girlfriend * Jennifer Crystal Foley as Christie Parker (season 2): Lily's boss at PagesAlive.com *

as Miles Drentell (season 2): Rick and David's primary client * Steven Weber as Samuel Blue (season 3; recurring season 1): Rick's friend and Judy's lover

Recurring

Kimberly McCullough Kimberly Anne McCullough (born March 5, 1978) is an American actress and television director. She is best known for her role as Robin Scorpio on the soap opera ''General Hospital'', a role which she originated at age seven, playing the character ...

as Jennifer: Eli's girlfriend before Cassidy and before Carla * Kelly Coffield as Naomi Porter: Lily and Karen's mutual friend * James Eckhouse as Lloyd Lloyd: Karen's ill-fated date *

Paul Mazursky Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky (April 25, 1930 – June 30, 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards: three ...

as Phil Brooks: Lily and Judy's father * Bonnie Bartlett as Barbara Brooks: Lily and Judy's mother * Mark Feuerstein as Leo Fisher: Karen's younger boyfriend * Alexandra Holden as Cassidy: Eli's girlfriend after Jennifer * Patrick Dempsey as Aaron Brooks: Lily and Judy's

schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...

brother * Audrey Marie Anderson as Carla Aldrich: Eli's girlfriend *

Mark Valley Mark Thomas Valley (born December 24, 1964) is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Brad Chase in the TV drama '' Boston Legal'', Oliver Richard in the NBC drama '' Harry's Law'', FBI Special Agent John Scott in t ...

as Will Gluck: Handyman and Judy's lover *

D. B. Sweeney Daniel Bernard Sweeney (born November 14, 1961) is an American actor. Early life Sweeney was born in Shoreham, New York, on November 14, 1961. He attended both Tulane and New York University. Career In 1990, Sweeney starred as Treplev in Jeff Co ...

as Graham Rympalski: Lily and Christie's co-worker at PagesAlive.com * Marco Gould as Spencer Lewicki: Grace's boyfriend *

as August Dimitri: Grace's English teacher/acting coach/romantic interest * Paul Dooley as Les Creswell: Lily's boss at WIPX *

as Katie Singer: Jessie's friend/girlfriend *

Christina Chang Christina Chang () is a Taiwanese actress, who has appeared in '' 24'', '' CSI: Miami'', and ''Nashville''. Currently she plays Dr. Audrey Lim, Chief of Surgery, on '' The Good Doctor''. Early life Chang was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, ...

as Amanda: One of Rick's employees

Notes

Episodes

Season 1 (1999–2000)

Season 2 (2000–01)

Season 3 (2001–02)

Production

The series was filmed at the Century Studio Corporation sound stages in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and also on location in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

area.

DVD releases

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (formerly Buena Vista Home Entertainment) released Season 1 on November 5, 2002, mere months after the series finale. However, it took three more years and numerous petition drives for season two to be released, which occurred on August 23, 2005. A little over a month later, on September 30, 2005, news broke about the release of the third and final season, which was slated to occur on January 10, 2006. Mock-up photos of the packaging were even released. However, by October 2005 the title was delayed indefinitely with no explanation and was never released. It was almost two years before another official word was uttered on the subject and in July 2007, it was reported that Buena Vista's license on the program was soon to expire. As a result, a new company could acquire the distribution rights to the title and potentially release the third season."Once and Again on DVD, Release Info, News at TVShowsOnDVD.com"
, TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 30 October 2011.

Ratings

Awards

References

External links

* {{Edward Zwick 1990s American drama television series 1999 American television series debuts 2000s American drama television series 2002 American television series endings 1990s American LGBT-related drama television series 2000s American LGBT-related drama television series American Broadcasting Company original programming Deerfield, Illinois English-language television shows Lesbian-related television shows Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Television series by ABC Studios Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Illinois