Trivia / 7th Heaven

• Cast the Runner-Up: Beverley Mitchell originally auditioned for the role of Mary.
• The Cast Show Off: In season 6, Robbie (Adam LaVorgna)'s love interest, Joy Reyes (played by singer Joy Enriquez) sings her own single "Tell Me How You Feel" at a bar owned by her father, supposedly as a way of rebelling and impressing Robbie, but obviously as a way to promote her singing career.
• Contractual Purity: Jessica Biel, who rebelled by posing topless (but non-nude) for Gear magazine... at the age of seventeen.
• Dawson Casting:
  • Barry Watson was 22 when he started playing high school junior (16-17 year old in Season 1) Matt Camden.
  • Beverley Mitchell was 15 playing the 12-year-old Lucy Camden in season 1, making her older than Jessica Biel, who was around the same age as the 14-year-old Mary Camden in season 1.
  • Gabrielle Union was 24 when she began portraying recurring character Keisha Hamilton, who was apparently around the same age as Lucy and Mary (who were 13 and 14, respectively, around the time Union joined the show). Additionally, Union is five years older than Chaz Lamar Shepherd, who played her character's older brother John.
  • Megan Henning, who portrayed Martin's girlfriend and Ruthie's friend Meredith, was 26 portraying a high school student, presumably Ruthie's age (14).
• Directed by Cast Member: Stephen Collins and Barry Watson (the latter also penned an episode).
• Making Use of the Twin: Jeremy London (Chandler)'s twin brother Jason is used in an episode.
• No Export for You: In many countries only Season 1-7 are sold, and if you'd like to obtain Season 8-11, you'd have to import from the U.S. Also, in the U.K. the series is not available in the regional "2" format but Amazon sells the U.S. "1" format (which you'd need a region-free DVD player for).
• Real-Life Relative:
  • George and Geoff Stults (Kevin and Ben Kinkirk, respectively) were brothers.
  • Mackenzie Rosman's stepsister Katelyn Salmont portrayed Ruthie's friend Katelyn, who, like her actress, had cystic fibrosis.
  • Guest stars Chyler Leigh and Nathan West (who portrayed Mary's season five friends Frankie and Johnnie) are married in real life. Likewise are Corbin Bernsen and Amanda Pays, who played a married couple on the cusp of divorce in a season 3 episode.
  • Simon's girlfriend Deena and Eric's adopted brother George were played by siblings Nicole and Sam Saletta, respectively.
• Real Life Writes the Hairstyle: Between the last episode of Season 2 and the first episode of Season 3, Mary goes from almost waist-length hair to chin-length hair. The actress, Jessica Biel, stated in interviews at the time that it was her decision to cut her hair in-between seasons, as a way to rebel against the show's producers, and the show producers were not happy with it.
• Role-Ending Misdemeanor: Jessica Biel did a racy photo shoot specifically to get out of the show because she felt her squeaky-clean image was making her miss out on serious dramatic roles. It didn't quite get her fired, but it did drastically reduce her screen time.
• Romance on the Set:
  • Downplayed: both Jessica Biel and Beverley Mitchell initially had precocious crushes on their onscreen brother Barry Watson. It soon tapered off due them viewing him as more of a big brother.
  • Jessica Biel had, at the time, a relationship with the actor who played her on-screen boyfriend Robbie, Adam LaVorgna.
• She Also Did: Creator Brenda Hampton also worked on Blossom, and created Fat Actress and drumroll, please... The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Mary's character could've gone a different direction had Jessica Biel not gone through with her Gear magazine spread.
  • When season seven was still airing, there were rumors of a potential spinoff featuring Chandler and Roxanne as a newlywed couple moving to a new town and church.
• Write What You Know: Brenda Hampton wrote in the twins because her own sister had twins, and she later added adopted and foster kids into the show, because she herself had two adoptive children.

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