Abby :Cast Photo - Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries

Abby aired on UPN from January until March 2003.

This comedy centured on the personal and professional life of Abby Walker (Sydney Tamilia Poitier), who had recently been promoted to producer of the West Coast Sports Report on WCSR-TV in San Francisco.Pretty Abby had just broken up with Will ( Kadeem Hardison), her self-absorbed, professional photographer boyfriend, but was attempting to maintain a platonic live-in relationship with him so that they could keep their rent-controlled apartment. Will still had the hots for Abby and spent considerable time trying to rekindle their romance. Roger (Sean O'Bryan), Abby's chauvinistic boss and Will's buddy wanted to get them back together, while her outspoken sister Jo ( Tangie Ambrose), thought it was time for Abby to move on. Max ( Randy J. Goodwin), the handsome anchor of the West Coast Sports Report, was Abby's uncomfortable confidant-he had a crush on Abby that was obvious to everyone but her.

An Article from The New York Daily News

Another Poitier's Making A Name For Herself
BY DONNA PETROZZELLO DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, January 03, 2003

Sydney Tamiia Poitier has survived her share of awkward dates.

So she won't pretend the dating scene is an easy endeavor for Abby Walker, the single, twentysomething character Poitier plays on UPN's latest sitcom, "Abby," airing Monday and Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. before hitting its regular slot, Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

"Dating can be a messy, obnoxious and difficult process," said Poitier, 29, the daughter of Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier and actress Johanna Shimkus.

"I've gone out with some sweet guys, but also others that have turned out to be complete idiots," added the actress, whose regular steady is musician Dorian Heartsong.

In her first sitcom, Poitier plays the producer of a sports TV show who is looking for a mate while she lives in a rent-controlled apartment with an ex-boyfriend, Will (Kadeem Hardison).

As the sitcom was conceived, Abby's roommate was white, but that changed and Hardison, who starred in the sitcom "A Different World," joined the cast.

The series' creator, Mitchel Katlin, explained the switch in an earlier interview. "We had wanted to have an interracial relationship, but not make the show about an interracial relationship," he said.

Katlin added that "the test audience for the original pilot asked, 'Why aren't you dealing with it?' "

There will be interracial relationships in Abby's romantic world, a fact of life the actress says is missing from most shows.

"If you're a young person these days, you have friends of different races, you work with people of many races, but on TV, you get the homogenized version of life," said Poitier, the child of an interracial marriage.

"TV is behind other media in that respect," she added. "I don't think it's intentional segregation, but there are too many shows whose casts are all-white, or all-black or all-Hispanic."

Poitier hopes to make a name for herself with the show, even though it's a name she shares with her dad.

"I think my name carries with it certain connotations for each person, depending on what they think of my father," said Poitier, who said she once briefly considered changing her name.

"My dad told me people wanted him to change his name when he got into acting because it sounded too lyrical," she added. But he refused.

"He wanted to do well by his family name. I thought, he's right."

A Review from The New York Daily News

Advice For Upn: Get Rid Of 'Abby'
BY DAVID BIANCULLI
Monday, January 06, 2003

Watching Sidney Poitier's daughter Sydney Tamiia Poitier in the new UPN sitcom "Abby" is like watching Renee Zellweger in "The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre." You can sense enough talent to wonder, even at such an early stage in their careers, how they got involved in such tacky travesties.

It's not fair to compare father and daughter, or to expect the young Poitier to automatically take up her father's defiantly dignified string of positive role-model characters. It's sad, though, to see such an obviously talented and bright young woman accepting a sitcom role that might make Christina Aguilera blush, or Martin Lawrence feel superior.

There's no sport, and absolutely no joy, in recounting the many sins of "Abby," so I won't bother. After tonight's premiere, "Abby" moves to its regular time slot of Tuesdays at 9:30, the final salvo in a newly amassed "Girls Night" on UPN that also includes "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Girlfriends."

"Girlfriends," a good, smart comedy, doesn't necessarily make for a bad pairing, though what UPN should do is rescue Joss Whedon's "Firefly" from its Fox doghouse and put "Buffy" and "Firefly," two Whedon shows, together on Tuesdays. The only shows that seem worthy of pairing with "Abby" are long-gone train wrecks like "The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer" and "Homeboys in Outer Space."

In "Abby," Poitier plays the producer of a TV sports program in San Francisco. Her apartment is rent-controlled, so even when she and her boyfriend, Will (played by Kadeem Hardison, Dwayne on "A Different World"), break up, they continue to live together. Meanwhile, one of her anchormen, Max (Randy J. Goodwin), has an unrequited crush on her.

While keeping a platonic distance from her now ex-boyfriend, she connives to make him jealous, using Max as bait and aggressively suggestive remarks and sounds as weapons. In the show airing tomorrow night, she expends further sexual energy by setting her sights on real-life R & B singer Kenny Lattimore.

The situation is no more leering, except in its updated and more risqué content, than "Three's Company." It's just that Poitier deserves so much better - and in 2003, so do TV viewers.

It's easy to understand why CBS, which now programs UPN and generates "Abby" via CBS Productions, wanted to build a series around Poitier. It's even easy to understand why Michael Katlin and Nat Bernstein, whose credits include the dignified and very funny "Gregory Hines Show," would be handed the reins as creators and executive producers.

It's difficult to fathom, though, how they accepted "Abby" as the result. Viewers should not consider making the same mistake.

From TrekToday.com News....

UPN's new comedy series Abby premieres tonight, before settling into its new Tuesday timeslot as a companion to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The show stars Sydney Tamiia Poitier as the titular Abby Walker, a young professional TV producer for a programme called West Coast Sports Report. She is in the unique position of being "one of the few women in the testosterone-laden world of sports broadcasting," according to the UPN web site. Joining Abby are: Max (Randy J. Goodwin), her co-anchor and secret admirer; Roger (Sean O'Bryan), her eccentic boss; and Jo (Tangie Ambrose), her flirtatious sister.

Once settled in its Tuesday slot at 9p.m., Abby will be the replacement for the short-lived Haunted, the failed attempt to replace the underperforming Roswell. With two genre shows not working in the spot, UPN is taking a different tact with Abby. It will be the first time that a genre show hasn't aired there in over two years.

Reviewers don't seem overly impressed with the new addition, however. "Pleasant but not funny," is how Robert Bianco for USA Today sees the show. "There's little in Abby that could give offense, and if that's all you want from a sitcom, you might be pleased. Unfortunately, there's also virtually nothing that could provide amusement, not a single funny line nor a single convincing characterization." Bianco believes UPN is showing a pattern. "It's as if UPN thinks no comedy with black actors can be complete without someone talking about 'getting some.' The truth, as UPN might someday learn, is that no comedy is complete without comedy. It would be nice if shows like Abby would figure that out."

Michael Speier writing for Variety shares similar thoughts. "What doesn't work -- and it's becoming a resounding criticism of UPN -- is its reliance on booty humor. In Abby's first episode, there are separate discussions about hot sex, about messy sex and about dirty sex. Considering the appeal of the debut, it may make sense for the producers to step up to the plate and focus on the more intelligent aspects while leaving the vulgarity to someone else." He did have praise for the lead actress though. "A real natural, Poitier [...] carries the load here, reacting with proper nuance and appropriate tones to males who come from various macho molds."

Marc Berman at Mediaweek doesn't give high hopes to it lasting. "Without the benefit of airing in UPN's protected Monday sitcom block, Abby on Tuesday is a long shot at best. Like corporate cousin CBS, airing a comedy outside of Monday generally leads to disaster ... err ... cancellation." He gives the show a 9-1 chance of surviving no Tuesdays.

The first episode, 'The Break Up', sees the end of Abby's relationship with self-centered boyfriend Will. But as he won't leave the apartment, they become roommates. In 'Moving On', friend Roger tries to get Abby and Will back together. It's obviously unsucessful, because in the third episode, 'Abby's First Date', Abby asks a stranger on a date, her first since her breakup with Will.

Abby makes its debut tonight at 9:30p.m. ET/PT. Episode two will air tomorrow at the same time. It will then enter its normal time slot of Tuesdays at 9p.m. ET/PT

For more on Abby go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abby_(TV_series)

For a Website dedicated to Sydney Tamila Poitier go to http://www.sydney-poitier.com/