On September 29, 1998, The WB launched a new drama titled Felicity, following recent high school graduate Felicity Porter (portrayed by Keri Russell) through her college life in New York City, across the country from her home in California. The series, which also starred Scott Speedman, Amy Jo Johnson, Tangi Miller, Scott Foley, Greg Grunberg and Amanda Foreman, aired for four seasons, following the group through the four years of college.
The show, which aired until May 2002, marked the first TV show for J.J. Abrams, as he cocreated the series with Matt Reeves.
In 2018, the cast reunited at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas, and Russell revealed that she understands why the show is timeless, still touching fans years later.
“The beauty of the show, as always, this really simple idea that I feel is very relatable. This romantic idea … that a lot of times when you’re young of this chance to change your life completely,” she said at the time. “Everyone can look back on that one moment: I wish I would have chosen him or taken that chance. That’s was the sweetness, beauty and the truth of the show. And that’s what we got to live out through Felicity. She did, she took the risks. She jumped. That was the strength and core story of the show.”
She also reflected on one of the most memorable scenes from the show: Felicity’s drastic haircut, which happened after Russell texted the creators a picture of her in a boy’s wig, joking she’d cut her hair.
“I was with my girlfriends at some lake and I got this phone call … and [Abrams] said, ‘Hey, we got your picture, would you really cut your hair?’ And I said ‘I guess.’ They said it was a typical college girl’s story: a guy breaks up with her and the girl cuts her hair and it’s bad. I loved it. It was such a good storyline,” she said on the panel. “And I think the thing that was so surprising to me about the reaction … is that Felicity was never a fashion plate anyway. … I was wearing baggy clothes and so I didn’t think everyone cared so much about the way I looked. … It wasn’t the best, but it was so good for the character it didn’t matter.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see what the cast has been up to since the show wrapped.