This Ellen DeGeneres vehicle followed the cancellation of the star's ABC sitcom, and though this one too suffered due to inopportune scheduling, it improved upon the first show with a great cast and fantastic writing. Ellen stars as an openly gay L.A. business woman whose dot-com company goes bust, prompting her to move back to her hometown and a more subdued lifestyle. She becomes the guidance counselor at her old high school, reviving relationships with many people she thought she had left behind. These include a former teacher (Martin Mull), her flighty sister (Emily Rutherford), her mother (Cloris Leachman), and her persistent prom date (Jim Gaffigan).