Julia Salinger, Party of Five

Julia Salinger (Neve Campbell)

Party of Five was an American drama series which centered on five siblings and their struggles after the loss of their parents in a car accident. Julia Salinger was the eldest sister and described as a highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive teen who struggled to adjust to being an orphan and having more responsibilities to the family. She had multiple serious male love interests throughout the series.

Season 5

In Season 5, Julia was away at college and became close with visiting professor Perry Marks and developed a crush on her. They shared a kiss after Perry told her they might publish something Julia wrote. After the kiss, Julia didn’t want to lose their friendship but Perry didn’t want Julia to use her to work out her issues. Julia then spent all her time dating new guys, but after a final talk with Perry, she realized just how much she needed some time alone. Perry was not seen on the show again.

Executive producer John Romano had this to say about the storyline: “Julia isn’t harboring any secret lesbian feelings, and she doesn’t even think that way. There’s a moment where they kiss but it’s more like friends kissing each other,” Romano said. “It’s more complicated when Julia becomes aware that Perry is gay and has to deal with what it means to have a gay friend if you’re straight.” Source: New York Post

Appearances:

• 143 episodes. 1x01 - 6x24

Female love interests:

• Perry Marks (Olivia d'Abo, guest, 3 episodes)

Relationship story arc with a woman: No

Male love interests:

• Griffin (Jeremy London, recurring S2-3, main cast S4-6, 86 episodes)
• Justin (Michael Goorjian, recurring, 44 episodes)
• Ned (Scott Bairstow, recurring, 20 episodes)

Relationship story arc with a man: Yes

Filter Relationship Arc:

• Male (Regular)

Storyline during sweeps? Yes

[1] A relationship story arc is defined as explicit, developed on screen, and lasting more than 3 episodes. It is listed as questionable or subtext if romance is only implied, mentioned instead of shown on screen, part of a dream sequence, or otherwise not explicit for the viewer.
[2] Sweeps episodes air in February, May, July and November, the periods when advertising rates are set. A character is marked as "sweeps" when there is a very limited number of episodes that address their sexuality, all air during sweeps period, and the storyline is otherwise ignore/dropped.