Women's day

And they'll likely keep talking about them. First of all, it's smart business: Though advertisers love the malleable whippersnappers, they also have a soft spot for women 18 to 49. ''By and large, it's the females in the house that do the shopping, so they're very desirable,'' says Tom Watson, vice president of Western International Media. And in the clone-happy world of TV, the women's movement can only grow. ''There'll be network people saying 'Why aren't we doing more of this?''' predicts Family Law exec producer Paul Haggis. ''Just like what happened with Friends.''

Meanwhile, the big screen is also experiencing the revenge of the mature woman. ''Movie admissions have been increasingly driven by a growing older audience,'' says industry analyst David Davis of the consulting firm Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin. ''This graying boomer population has a lot of cultural power, and women are a key component.'' Take the curious case of The Story of Us, which analysts say may KO Fight Club in the long run. ''A picture like [The Story of Us] tends to have stronger legs,'' says Philip Garfinkle of the box-office-analyst firm AC Nielsen EDI. ''Older-skewing audiences don't feel the urgent need to go that first week.''

And as the Ms. demo becomes the niche du jour, look for Hollywood to cool down on its teen crush. In fact, the orgy of pubescent shows on the fall schedule has already started to shoot blanks. Though a handful are, like, catching on (The WB's Roswell), many others are lost in the shuffle (The WB's Popular). The WB "filled a need in the marketplace, and everybody followed suit," says Nina Tassler, senior VP of dramatic-series development at CBS. "As a result, we may have reached a glut of shows that are just teen ensembles without having a sense of themselves."

Besides, the fickle Clearasil set has websites to surf. Teens "watch less television — so you're swimming upstream," says Tim Spengler of Western International Media. Adds Chris Geraci of BBDO: "The [teen] audience changes its viewership patterns almost as often as its fashion." And we all know what happened to acid-washed jeans.

(Additional reporting by Will Lee and Corey Takahashi)