Two Guys and a Girl
The second season saw the arrival of two additional recurring characters: Johnny Donnelly (Nathan Fillion) and Ashley Walker (Suzanne Cryer).
In 2000, for the fourth season, ABC moved the sitcom from midweek to a Friday night death slot, leading to a steep drop in ratings.
After the show moved back to Wednesday for a two-week trial in an unsuccessful attempt to regain ratings, it was cancelled in May 2001.
Focusing on the lives of twenty-somethings Michael Bergen, Pete Dunville, and Sharon Carter, the show was originally based on the life of its creator.
The series stars Ryan Reynolds as Michael Leslie "Berg" Bergen, Richard Ruccolo as Peter "Pete" Dunville, and Traylor Howard as campus beauty Sharon Carter (later Carter-Donnelly).
The first season features Jennifer Westfeldt as Melissa, Pete's girlfriend, and David Ogden Stiers as Mr. Bauer, a delusional old man who frequents the pizza place, pretending that experiences from films are his own.
The second season abandons these two characters, focusing on the interplay between Pete and Berg and their relationship with Sharon, who lives in the apartment above them.
Berg eventually decides to attend medical school and become a doctor, while Pete drops out of architecture classes to become a career counselor.
The second season also introduces Johnny Donnelly (Nathan Fillion), a jukebox repairman who starts dating Sharon, and Ashley Walker (Suzanne Cryer), a medical school classmate of Berg's who competes with him to be top of the class.
At the start of season three, the pizza place is abandoned entirely (hence the change in the show's title), and Berg begins his medical residency.
Actors such as Jennifer Westfeldt (Melissa), and Julius Carry (Bill) were credited as secondary cast members to principals Ryan Reynolds, Richard Ruccolo, and Traylor Howard.
Mr. Bauer, played by David Ogden Stiers, frequently appeared around the pizza place, telling stories of life events which actually occurred in movies.
Pete structures his life around architecture and grad school, while Sharon, their friend upstairs, works for an evil corporation that exploits the Earth's natural resources, much to her dislike.
The premiere resolves the season two cliffhanger, with Sharon answering Johnny's proposal with 'Yes, in theory,' although she is still holding out on her feelings for Pete.
Evidently, Pete flies to Paris after the night's events and returns completely over Sharon, with a new girlfriend who speaks only French and is revealed to be extremely racist.
He enjoys the experience of being an honorary firefighter until the feisty Marti, played by Tiffani Thiessen, comes along to thwart him at every turn.
Four different endings were filmed for viewers to decide whether one of the three central female characters (Sharon, Ashley, or Irene) should become pregnant or whether none should be.
The show had strong ratings success during its run, peaking in season 2 with an average of 12.0 million viewers.
The series premiere, titled "The Pilot", was watched by 17.94 million viewers, airing after The Drew Carey Show.
[2] The eleventh episode of season 1, "Two Guys, a Girl and How They Met", got a 6.7 Nielsen rating,[3] a big drop from the series premiere.
It was ranked #1 in its time period with Total Viewers, outperforming Beverly Hills, 90210, The Nanny, and Dawson's Creek.
[citation needed] The title sequence for Seasons 3 and 4 shows Pete, Berg, and Sharon dancing to a more modern piece of music in front of a plain white backdrop, wearing suits and dresses.
The music for Seasons 1 and 2 included numerous variations on the title theme, a prime example of which is "Two Guys, a Girl and a Vacation" where the cast members do a short rendition of "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys.
