THE WORLD - News from June 24, 2001

Mae Whitman and Alia Shawkat just had the grooviest time playing two friends growing up in 1965 in the new Fox Family Channel series “State of Grace,” which premieres Monday on the cable network.

For 13-year-old Whitman and 12-year-old Shawkat, one of the coolest things about turning the clock back to the swinging ‘60s was the vintage-style candy they got to eat, such as candy cigarettes.

“Mae and I loved them,” enthuses Shawkat, who was seen in “Three Kings.” “It was so much fun,” echoes Whitman, seen in “One Fine Day” and “Hope Floats.”

“I cannot tell you how many of those candy cigarettes I have eaten,” Whitman explains. “That is the main candy [our characters] ate. I remember our prop guy would always give us more to take home.”

Created by Brenda Lilly and Hollis Rich, “State of Grace” is the distaff version of such nostalgia-tinged, coming-of-age series as “The Wonder Years” and “Brooklyn Bridge.” Lilly and Rich are executive producers, along with Stan Rogow, who produced the John Sayles legal series “Shannon’s Deal.”

Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand is the series’ narrator: Hannah Rayburn, a 47-year-old journalist who reflects back to 1965, when as a 12-year-old (Shawkat), she moved with her traditional Jewish family to North Carolina and was enrolled in a Catholic girls’ school.

The shy Hannah is quickly befriended by Grace McKee (Whitman), a free-spirited, seemingly happy-go-lucky 12-year-old whose mother, Tattie (Faye Grant), is a much-married jet-setter and whose father is dead. Grace longs for a strong family unit like Hannah’s, while Hannah desires Grace’s independence. Dinah Manoff and Michael Mantell play Hannah’s overprotective parents.

Creators Lilly and Rich became good friends when they worked together on the short-lived series “Second Noah.”

“There came a point about four years after ‘Second Noah’ that we were both getting disillusioned by the kind of shows we were being offered,” says Rich.

So the two friends sat down and began mulling over ideas for their own series. “We started talking--how girlfriends do--about our lives,” says Rich, “and we found this interesting intersection where Brenda had gone to a Catholic girls’ school....

“In North Carolina,” pipes in Lilly. “When I was about 12, one of my best friends in school was Jewish.”

As Rich and Lilly began fleshing out the characters and the plot points, they realized the broadcast networks have shied away from coming-of-age stories dealing with girls. “There is a sense that a boy’s coming-of-age is a universal story, but a girl’s is not,” says Rich. So the two took their series to cable.

And they believe “State of Grace” has found the perfect home on Fox Family. The network, says Rich, is trying to find a “new kind of sophisticated, edgier family program that appeals to adults.”

They also hope Grace and Hannah will be strong role models for young girls. “The girls’ coming-of-age is as universal, as dynamic, as exciting and funny and fraught with danger and intrigue as boys’ coming-of-age,” offers Rich.

Shawkat and Whitman both fell in love with their characters. “She’s a lot of fun,” says Shawkat of Hannah. “She is shy and conservative. She’s not like Grace, but when she gets mad, she’ll go off!”

“Grace is so fun and fun-loving,” says Whitman. “She is always crazy and the one who wears really awesome clothes. It is really fun to be able to play that character.”

And, she explains, to also get the opportunity to try “really different emotions. Grace is out there and fun-loving and crazy, but she puts on this cheerful veneer. But on the inside she’s not too happy because she wants a family, and that’s exactly what Hannah has.”

The two young actresses’ on-screen chemistry spilled over into their real lives. “I actually love Alia so much it is not even funny,” says Whitman. “She is such a great person to act with and really professional. She’s the best!”

“We became really good friends,” adds Shawkat. “We are now, like, the best of friends.”

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“State of Grace” airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on Fox Family Channel. The network has rated the first two episodes TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).