Keri Russell’s 11-Year-Old Daughter Watched ‘Felicity’ And Declared It “Cringey”

Maybe it was just in my household, but when Tuesday night rolled around in 1999, my sister and I would be glued to the TV, soaking in every moment of the WB series Felicity.

Starring Keri Russell, the show followed a shy, sheltered girl named Felicity as she moved to New York to go to college.

Maybe it was Russell’s luscious, curly locks that had us mesmerized or possibly the cute male love interests she was constantly bumping into, but there’s no doubt that — for its time —Felicity was a pop culture phenomenon.

And while I know that and you know that, try explaining that to Keri Russell’s 11-year-old daughter, Willa.

The Cocaine Bear actress, 46, talked about showing her preteen the series — which aired from 1998 to 2002 — during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

“My daughter about a year ago — she’s kind of mature for her age, and she was bored one day — I said, ‘Hey, Willa, I did this show about this college girl, and you might think it’s cool. It’s really sweet,’” Russell recalled.

“And so I showed it to her. I put it on, and I downloaded an episode from Amazon or wherever you get it these days,” she continued. “After about 15 minutes, she turned it off and she went, ‘Ugh, mom, it’s so cringey.’”

Russell admitted that she didn’t read the room quite right when it came to her daughter’s interest in watching her mom have romance scenes with random men.

“She was actually grossed out by me,” the mother of three said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Oh, I thought you might like it.’”

Willa did not, in fact, like watching the late ‘90s drama and instead told her mom it was hard for her to watch.

“And she was like, ‘Ugh, so cringey,’” Russel recalled.

Then she seemed to get where the tween was coming from. “Like, why would you think I’d want to watch your college experience making out with weird boys and stuff?”

Fair enough.

While Willa may not have been into the show, during its heyday, Felicity had a extremely successful first season. The show continued on for three more seasons, though the ratings dipped after it was moved to a different time slot. However, others speculated that Russell’s decision to cut off her signature locks for a shorter do led to the decrease in viewership.

Russell shares Willa as well as son, River Russell, 15, with ex-husband and Brooklyn-based contractor, Shane Deary. Russell has another son, Sam, 6, with partner and her The Americans costar, Matthew Rhys.

Chatting with People back in 2017, Russell shared that her parenting style had changed with each of her three kids.

“You get what you get,” the actress continued. “And they're all so different and wild and weird and good in their own way.”

Russell noted, “You do the best you can every single day, and some days are bad days. I feel like people need to remember that more.”

“You get it right sometimes, and then you don't get it right.”

Like when you think your Gen Alpha kid will watch a teen drama (that stars their mom nonetheless) from the late ‘90s/early ‘00s and not find it totally cringe-worthy.