Hooking Up August 11 Season Finale Preview  8/9/05

SEASON FINALE "HOOKING UP," A DOCUMENTARY SERIES FROM ABC NEWS, GOES INSIDE THE UNPREDICTABLE WORLD OF ONLINE DATING

The Final Hour Airs Thursday, August 11, at 9:00 p.m., ET on ABC

In the final hour of the ABC News documentary series "Hooking Up," Sonja, a health food store owner, sees her relationship with Mitch falter when he suddenly breaks up with her after giving her what he calls a "pre-engagement" ring. Shelly, a Juilliard-trained opera singer and former dominatrix, pursues "casual encounters" online until she unexpectedly falls hard for a guy who could be the "Mr. Right" she wasn't particularly looking for. Kristin, a yoga instructor, realizes that Mike is not the man for her when he starts talking about their "relationship" during their second date; she feels the need to apply the brakes. And Christen, a sales rep who is a recent transplant to New York and new to its unique dating scene, has some eye-opening misadventures. The final hour of "Hooking Up" airs THURSDAY, AUGUST 11 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Some of the women featured in previous hours of "Hooking Up" also make return appearances. Kelly and Steve appear to be an item once again, their misunderstanding put behind them. Maryam spends an afternoon in Central Park with her new boyfriend, whom she met online. And Amy goes back out in the field and resumes dating, ever wistful about her sister's settled life and new baby.

Once stigmatized as the last resort of desperate souls and lonely hearts, today internet dating services are a billion-dollar industry used by an estimated 40 million Americans. "Hooking Up," a five-part documentary series from the producer behind the award-winning ABC News series "Hopkins 24/7," "Boston 24/7" and "NYPD 24/7," offers an intimate look at the sometimes bewildering, often hilarious, and occasionally frightening world of online dating.

Like the "24/7" series, "Hooking Up" puts a particular aspect of our culture under a microscope, focusing in this case on the yearnings, trials and tribulations of eleven Manhattan women. Their experiences - the connections, the rejections, the dating disasters - are a reminder that, for better or worse, every date is an adventure into uncharted territory.

Terence Wrong is producer and executive producer of "Hooking Up." Brad Hebert and Bryan Taylor are co-producers. Rudy Bednar is the senior executive producer and Phyllis McGrady is the executive-in-charge.