Party of Five is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 episodes.

Notable co-stars included Scott Grimes, Paula Devicq, Michael Goorjian, Ben Browder, Jeremy London, and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

While categorized as a series aimed at teenagers and young adults, Party of Five explored several mature themes, including substance and domestic abuse, teen pregnancy, mental illness, cancer, and the long-term effects of parental loss.

[1] Despite receiving positive reviews from television critics after its debut, including TV Guide naming it "The Best Show You're Not Watching" in 1995,[2] the series suffered from low ratings during its first and second seasons, during which speculation arose that it would soon be cancelled.

The family is composed of 24-year-old Charlie (Matthew Fox), the eldest, a womanizing, immature manual laborer who struggles with the responsibility of being the new head of the family; 16-year-old Bailey (Scott Wolf), the once-rebellious teen forced into a role of responsible caretaker and later veering into alcoholism; 15-year-old Julia (Neve Campbell), a sensitive teen; 11-year-old Claudia (Lacey Chabert), a precocious child prodigy musician; and baby Owen, age one.

She auditioned along with her then-roommate Tara Strong, and ended up winning the role of Julia and moving to Los Angeles for the show, after it was picked up by Fox for a full series.

The website's critics consensus reads, "A sincere family drama full of tear-jerking moments, Party of Five excels at its authentic depiction of young adult issues.

[53] Party of Five is credited with "[moving] televised stories about and targeted at young adults away from the soap-opera genre and [helping to] make the medium safer for the more realistic teenagers we’d meet later on Dawson’s Creek, Freaks and Geeks, Friday Night Lights, and Gilmore Girls.