Tyra Banks Joins Cast of Felicity

September 13 -- Tyra Banks is joining Felicity as a "potential love interest" for Noel (Scott Foley), TV Guide reports.

As the overexuberant supermodel-turned-actress would have uttered during her in-your-face Oscar pre-show, "You go, girl!"

Executive producer J.J. Abrams admits that adding a supermodel to his ratings-challenged WB series is partly (only partly?) to boost viewership. "It definitely crossed our minds that it would be nice to get someone who is famous to be in the show," says Abrams. Doesn't he know that supermodels are, ya know, kind of high-strung? "Her notoriety is certainly not a negative as far as I'm concerned," he says.

Abrams adds that the story line came first, and that Tyra's name popped up when casting discussions began.

Banks had a brief turn in Coyote Ugly as a bar-top-dancing waitress who was studying to be a lawyer. Confounding the pea-brained model stereotype again (or at least trying to), Banks' character on the Keri Russell series will be someone who "doesn't have to work very hard to do well in school," says Abrams.

So, as long as the new cast addition favors us with some Coyote-style moves (and skips the god-awful jawing of her Oscar pre-show hosting gig), we may just tune in.