Abby (TV series)

Abby (TV series).
Abby is an American sitcom created by Nat Bernstein and Michael Katlin that aired for one season on UPN from January 6, 2003, to March 4, 2003. The show features Sydney Tamiia Poitier (pictured) as television producer Abby Walker and Kadeem Hardison as her ex-boyfriend Will Jeffries. After they break up in the pilot episode, they agree to live together as friends in their rent-controlled San Francisco apartment. Bernstein and Katlin had intended to feature an interracial couple, casting Sean O'Bryan as Will. After a negative response from test audiences, they gave the role to Hardison and recast O'Bryan as a supporting character, along with Randy J. Goodwin and Tangie Ambrose. Despite UPN's heavy promotion, the show attracted a weekly average of just 1.7 million viewers, making it the lowest-performing show tracked by Nielsen Holdings at the time. Critical responses were primarily negative; commentators praised Poitier's acting but criticized the show's reliance on sexual humor.