[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/la_locandina_di_once_and_again_135538_jpg_400x0_crop_q85_5.jpg]]

''Once and Again'' was a drama series created by Creator/EdwardZwick and Marshall Herskovitz, who also were the driving force behind ''Series/{{Thirtysomething}}'' and ''Series/MySoCalledLife'', and it starred Creator/SelaWard, Creator/BillyCampbell, and Creator/EvanRachelWood, among others.

Rick Sammler, a divorced architect, and Lily Manning, a soon-to-be-divorced salesperson, MeetCute when Lily takes her daughter Grace to see the school doctor during a soccer game while Rick is waiting with his son Eli to see the principal. They soon become romantically involved, but their relationship is complicated not only by their children (they each have two; Rick's son Eli and daughter Jessie, while Lily has two daughters, Grace and Zoe), but also their respective exes (Jake and Karen).

The show ran for three seasons (from 1999-2002) on Creator/{{ABC}}, and while it didn't earn the acclaim of their previous show ''Series/MySoCalledLife'', it was praised for its handling of the teen characters, and was probably the show that first brought [[Series/TheOC Mischa Barton]] and Creator/EvanRachelWood to people's attention. The show was also known for having the characters speak their innermost thoughts in black-and-white segments scattered throughout each episode.

----

!!This show provides examples of:

* AlmostKiss: Eli and Grace have one of these before Jessie interrupts them.
* BrotherSisterIncest: Downplayed on Eli's part, but while Grace's feelings for him fluctuate throughout the series, there's still a pretty strong IncestSubtext there.
%% * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Tiffany.
* ClosetGay: Jessie and Katie, as they have to keep their relationship a secret.
* ClosetKey: Jessie discovers she is attracted to another girl: upperclassman Katie Singer (Creator/MischaBarton) whom she befriended.
* CoolBigSis: Zoe thinks Jessie is this...at first, during season 2. In season 3, when Rick and Lily have gotten married and the two families are living together, it turns into TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry.
* [[CoolUncle Cool Aunt]]: Grace sees Judy as this, confiding in her in ways that she can't with her mom, and except for a brief estrangement in the Season 1 episode "Outside Hearts" when Judy gets in trouble for letting Grace go to a party, the two stay close. Later in the series, Judy also becomes this to Jessie as well, giving her books (see ShoutOut below) and being the one non-judgmental adult in her life, at least as far as Jessie feels.
* CreatorCameo: Creator/EdwardZwick appears in a few episodes in Season 2 as Dr. Rosenfeld, Jessie's therapist.
* {{Crossover}}: Miles Dentrell from ''Series/{{Thirtysomething}}'' appears as a recurring character here. [[spoiler: Until he kicks it.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: While Season 1 had its heavy storylines (Eli having trouble with reading and concentrating in school), it balanced it with lighter moments. Season 2, on the other hand...
* FlirtyStepsiblings: Eli towards Grace.
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Lily and Judy have this throughout the series. Grace and Jessie have this to a lesser extent in Season 3 - or at least, Grace feels this way.
* GreyAndGrayMorality: Just as in ''Series/MySoCalledLife'', everyone is portrayed as having their faults and their virtues. The worst on the show is Miles Dentrell, and even he gets to show a human side.
* HeroicBSOD: Jessie has one when she finds out [[spoiler: Karen was hit by a car]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Jessie and Katie. Eventually it turns romantic.
* HostageSituation: In the Season 2 episode "The Other End of the Telescope", a busboy at Jake's restaurant (Creator/DevonGummersall) takes the restaurant hostage after Jake fires him.
* IHaveThisFriend: Subverted in the Season 2 episode "Best of Enemies"; when Grace brings up anorexia, Judy thinks Grace is having problems with it, but Grace is actually talking about Jessie.
%% * ItsAllAboutMe: Lily, big time.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: Various episodes are named after either [[TitledAfterTheSong songs]] (Season 2 episodes "[[Music/TheEverlyBrothers Wake Up,Little Susie]]", "[[Music/ElvisCostello The Other End of the Telescope]]") or movies (Season 1 episode "Film/MyBrilliantCareer", Season 2 episode "Film/ThievesLikeUs"), and even plays ("[[Theatre/LovesLaboursLost Love's Laborer's Lost]]") or poems ("[[Creator/PercyByssheShelley Ozymandius 2.0]]").
* LipstickLesbian: Jessie and Kate eventually. Lipstick bisexuals in their case.
* LoveRevelationEpiphany: Katie acknowledges her own romantic feelings towards Jessie with a love letter.
%% * MayDecemberRomance: Karen and Leo are a GenderFlipped version of this trope, until Leo gets PutOnABus.
%% ** Karen seemed to be getting involved in another one of these in Season 3 with Henry.
* MyBelovedSmother: Both Eli and Jessie see Karen as this.
* NoPeriodsPeriod:
** Averted with Jessie; when she gets her first period (in the first season episode "There Be Dragons"), there's no attempt to make this a VerySpecialEpisode, as both Rick and Karen have an appropriate response, and when Jessie gets angry at her father later that episode, there's no connection.
** Also, there's an episode where Lily thinks she might be pregnant, but it turns out to be a false alarm. [[spoiler: She finds out she's pregnant in the season finale, though]].
* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: In one of the black-and-white segments, Grace gushes about how cool Judy's life has been, and mentions Judy was once involved with a [[Music/TheDoobieBrothers Doobie Brother]] - "whatever that is."
* PutOnABus: David, as well as the ex-boyfriends of Karen ([[UnfortunateNames Lloyd Lloyd]] and Leo) and Judy (Sam Blue and Will Gluck), Eli's ex-girlfriends Jennifer and Carla, and Jake's ex-girlfriend Tiffany.
%%** TheBusCameBack: Sam and Tiffany.
* SecretRelationship: The two girls Jessie and Katie quietly begin dating while hiding their romance from everyone, in what became the first teen lesbian romance on American network television.
* ShoutOut: In "Best of Enemies", Judy gives Jessie a copy of the book ''The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter'', which she said helped her get through high school.
* TeacherStudentRomance: Ultimately averted, but Grace does develop strong feelings for Mr. Dimitri throughout Season 3.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Subverted with Jessie - as she's sent to see Dr. Rosenfeld in Season 2 - but played straight with the other characters, particularly Grace.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Eli in Season 3. He got better, though.
* UnfortunateNames: Karen's boyfriend for part of Season 1 was Lloyd Lloyd. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Eli, Jessie and Rick in Season 1, and by Judy in Season 2.
* WildTeenParty: In the season 1 episode "Outside Hearts", both Eli and Grace (without Lily knowing) end up attending a teen party, during which a classmate of theirs accidentally overdoses. Judy agrees to keep it a secret, but Rick ends up telling Lily about what happened anyway.
----