Daytime drama star and talk show host Kelly Ripa invaded the realm of ABC sitcomery in the weekly Hope & Faith. Something of a female Odd Couple, the series starred Ripa as Faith, a recently fired soap opera star (both of the characters she played were killed off by the writers) who left Hollywood and relocated to the suburbs of the Midwest. Here the flamboyant Faith moved in with her strait-laced control-freak sister, Hope (Faith Ford), and Hope's family, causing all sorts of chaos with Hope's husband, Charley (Ted McGinley), and three children. Evidently the series underwent a difficult gestation period, inasmuch as three main cast members were replaced after the pilot episode. Whatever the cast, Hope & Faith was launched as scheduled on September 25, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi