Gotta love a show set in Jacqueline Kennedy High School. Actually, this show is a twist on the aforementioned Once and Again: children dealing with their respective single parents getting engaged. Basically it’s a jocks-vs.-geeks dramedy, with Single Dad Mike’s daughter Brooke being a cheerleader vs. stepdaughter-to-be Sam McPherson being the outcast geek.

Here’s a quick blurb on the photo they sent: Kennedy High School students (from left) Mike Bernardo (Ron Lester), Carmen Tessi (Sarah Rue), Lily DeMarcus (Tamara Mello), Harrison John (Chris Gorham), Sam McPherson (Carly Pope), Brooke McQueen (Leslie Bibb), Josh Ford (Kip Pardue), Nicole Julian (Tammy Lynn Michaels) and Mary Cherry (Leslie Grossman) find that popularity is the hardest terrain for teens to navigate or control in “Popular,” the new hour-long drama for The WB.

Update – July 13th 1999: Apparently Scott Bryce wasn’t popular enough for the role. Murmurs from the WB indicate a reshuffle in the casting deck. Stay tuned for mo’ news…

Another Update – July 30th 1999: Scott Bryce is back, and back with a vengeance! What was once a “with Special Guest Star” part has become a series regular cast role. Read all about Mr. Bryce and his Popular-ity contest in the Interviews section.

Watched the first episode – very vivid camera work, and a full two minutes and six seconds of Scott Bryce being a Single Dad. Also a rather obvious series of drop-ins of assorted ethnic high-schoolers left out of the series pilot as the WB tries to correct the major boo-boo of a lily-white fall season.

Update: June 12, 2001: Doom. The WB has pulled the plug. Bye, all you pretty McPhersons and McQueens