J. J. Abrams

MARYAM SANATI

Before he built a TV series around a pensive co-ed named Felicity Porter, J. J. Abrams spent several years writing populist screenplays for the big screen, among them Armageddon. Felicity (1998-2002), a show that clicked at the cult level, would move Abrams further into TV work. Today, the ABC network flexes a beefy Wednesday-night bicep on the strength of two Abrams hits: Alias, starring Jennifer Garner, and Lost, about a group of plane-crash survivors marooned on a mysterious island. The latter has scored viewership highs of more than 21 million by revealing plot points in doses of sustained suspense, one small clue after the next. Abrams is now working on his feature-film directorial debut, the third Mission: Impossible instalment, due in 2006.