'Once and Again' Runs Out of Second Chances

by Rick Porter

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - ABC's "Once and Again" has one of the most devoted audiences on television. Unfortunately for them, however, their numbers aren't large enough to keep the show alive.

The network announced Thursday (March 28) that "Once and Again" would end its three-year run with a series finale Monday, April 15.

Though the show -- which stars Sela Ward and Billy Campbell as a couple dealing with the everyday obstacles of their blended family -- has been widely praised by critics and earned both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations (Ward has won one of each), it never found a permanent home on ABC's schedule. The network shuffled it around to seven different timeslots in its three seasons, finally placing it at 10 p.m. Mondays midway through this season.

As a result of the frequent moves, "Once and Again" had trouble finding an audience beyond its loyal core fans. Ratings for the show have improved somewhat since it moved to Monday from Friday nights, but it still averages only about 6.5 million viewers a week. It's the lowest-rated drama on ABC's schedule.

Still, ABC President Susan Lyne says she's "incredibly proud" of the show. "The program has passionately devoted fans who deserve a fully realized conclusion to Rick [Campbell] and Lily's [Ward] story," she says.

Creators Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, whose "My So-Called Life" and "Relativity" were cancelled without a true finale, say they're happy both for "Once and Again's" fan support and that ABC is allowing them a chance to give the show a proper sendoff.

"At this moment we are just proud and honored to have reached and touched as many people as we did over the course of three years," Herskovitz says. "We have always judged our efforts on the basis of the passion with which they are received, not by the size of their ratings."

Zwick adds, "We're grateful that ABC has given us the chance to create a final episode that does justice to those who have been so loyal to the series." __ Zap2it.com (March 28, 2002)

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