In the series “Felicity” Russell played a student at a New York college, and the plot focused on the everyday struggles of the titular character. We followed the fate of a young girl, her relationships, romances for four seasons – from starting college to graduating. The series aired from 1998 to 2002; in 1999, Russell received her firsther career a Golden Globe statuette for Best Actress in a Drama Series.
At the helm of “Felicity” was JJ Abrams – later the creator of “Alias: Spy 100 Shades”“Lost”, the new film “Star Trek” or “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.
While working on the next seasons, JJ Abrams started thinking about a new series – was frustrated by the genre limitations of “Felicity.” For example, he wondered what would happen if Felicity became… a spy. This is how the idea for “Alias: Alias” was born, which he presented to the executives of Warner Bros. They gave their consent, but many fans (and apparently even WB) accused Abrams of his involvement in another project caused the quality of “Felicity” to decline in the fourth season. Some would probably point out that the same thing happened with Alias and Abrams’ new series, Lost.
Unlike other series set in New York (e.g. “Friends”, “Gossip Girl”), the creators of “Felicity” did not obtain permission to use the name of a New York university in the production. There were concerns that the series would address controversial topics that viewers would later associate with the institution itself.. That’s why in “Felicity” the university the main character attends is called University of New York instead of New York University.
What every fan of the series recognizes immediately is these are Keri Russel’s lush curls, which have become a kind of production icon. After filming the first season, Russell joked with the producers and sent them a photo of herself with a short haircut. The producers panicked at first, then decided it was a good idea. The drop in viewing figures at the beginning of the second series was reportedly attributed to this decision.
The filming was not without controversy. It turns out that one of the writers lied to the production about her age. She was hired because she wrote well and said that she had just finished high school and was 19 years old. She was called a genius, meanwhile, in reality the woman was 32 years old.
On the set of “Felicity” two… romances began. During the final seasons, Keri Russell dated Scott Speedman (who played Ben Covington in the series). Scott Foley met Jennifer Garner (who later played Sydney Bristow in “Alias”) during filming, whom he married some time later.
See also: A brilliant comedy with an all-star cast. It intelligently criticizes contemporary absurdities.