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Parenthood was a Syndication comedy\drama series developed by Jason Katims which aired from March 2, 2010 to January 29, 2015, lasting for six seasons & 103 episodes.
Loosely based on the 1989 film of the same title, the show is the second adaptation of the film to air on television preceded by the 1990–91 television series.
Plot[]
The show revolves around three generations of the Braverman family: the patriarch Zeek Braverman, the matriarch Camille Braverman, and the families of their four children: Adam, Sarah, Crosby, and Julia.
Adam is married to Kristina and they have children: Haddie, Max, and (later during the series) Nora. Sarah is divorced and has two teen children, Amber and Drew.
Crosby has a son Jabbar with girlfriend Jasmine (they marry in Season 3) and later a daughter Aida. Julia is married to Joel and has a daughter Sydney and (later in the series they adopt) a son Victor.
Cast[]
- Lauren Graham as Sarah Holt
- Peter Krause as Adam Braverman
- Erika Christensen as Julia Braverman
- Dax Shepard as Crosby Braverman
- Craig T. Nelson as Zeek Braverman
- Bonnie Bedelia as Camille Braverman
- Monica Potter as Kristina Braverman
- Sam Jaeger as Joel Graham
- Joy Bryant as Jasmine Trussell
- Max Burkholder as Max Braverman
- Miles Heizer as Drew Holt
- Savannah Paige Rae as Sydney Graham
- Mae Whitman as Amber Holt
- Tyree Brown as Jabbar Trussell
- Xolo Mariduena as Victor Graham
Production[]
Development[]
"Parenthood" is based on the 1989 film of the same name, co-written and directed by Ron Howard.
Following the release of the film, a television series was created and aired in 1990 on Syndication, but it turned out to be unsuccessful and was cancelled after one season.
Nearly two decades later, Jason Katims (the showrunner of "Friday Night Lights") met with Howard and Brian Grazer to ask them to readapt the film on television, which they accepted though they were reluctant at first.
The show was given the green-light from Syndication in January of 2009 and Katims finished writing the pilot script in early 2009.
Casting[]
Erika Christensen was the first actress to land a role in the pilot in early March 2009. By the end of the month, Peter Krause, Maura Tierney, Dax Shepard, Mae Whitman, Sarah Ramos and Craig T. Nelson were all attached to the series.
Nelson came aboard the project after passing on the role of the grandfather in "Modern Family."
In April, Max Burkholder was chosen to portray Peter Krause's son. During that same month Bonnie Bedelia, Sam Jaeger and Monica Potter were cast in the series.
Diane Farr was originally chosen as Kristina Braverman, but she quickly left the series due to scheduling conflicts with "Californication" and was replaced by Potter.
The series was originally scheduled to premiere on Syndication on September 23, 2009. However, on July 10, 2009, it was announced that the show would be pushed back to midseason due to Tierny's breast cancer diagnosis.
On September 10, 2009, a spokesperson for Tierney announced that she was leaving the show because of conflicts with her treatment schedule; Tierney's already-filmed scenes were deleted.
On October 9, 2009, it was reported that Lauren Graham would replace Tierney in the upcoming series. Helen Hunt had been approached, but she and Syndication were unable to come to a financial deal.
The pilot episode was reshot in November.
Max Burkholder, who portrays a boy who has Asperger's, explained how they ensure his portrayal is accurate. According to him:
"When I was first auditioning, they brought in a doctor who specializes in children with Asperger's and he told us the basic stuff. Then, since we started shooting, every couple of episodes I have a meeting with the executive producer, and the director of the episodes, and sometimes some of the writers, and a doctor specializing in Asperger's and we just talk about what Max would be doing in certain situations, like how he would react to certain things and if everyone was over here doing this, what would Max be doing?"
On September 11, 2012, Ray Romano joined the cast, in the role of Hank Rizzoli; the role was specifically created for him after he expressed his love for the show and met with Katims on the set of "Friday Night Lights".
Filming[]
Production for the first season began in 2009 with Katims as executive producer, serving as showrunner and head writer; he also directed a few episodes later in the series.
The pilot episode of "Parenthood" was filmed in Northern California, using local crews, while the rest of the series was filmed in Los Angeles.
As in Katims's other show, "Friday Night Lights", three cameras were used for shooting, placed at both sides of a scene.
There usually were no table reads prior to the filming of an episode, a process often used in other television shows.
Broadcast History[]
In the aftermath of Maura Tierney's departure from the series, the premiere date for "Parenthood" (which was originally set for September 23, 2009) was moved to March 1, 2010, at 9:00 p.m., but it was again delayed to the following day at 10:00 p.m. in the aftermath of "The Jay Leno Show" cancellation and the 2010 Tonight Show conflict, requiring the return of scripted programming to the later time slot.
"Parenthood" premiered on March 2, 2010, at 10:00 p.m., on Syndication, following "The Biggest Loser".
The series premiere was dedicated to the memory of Nora O'Brien, a Vice President at Syndication, who died on the set of the show on April 29, 2009, after collapsing from an aneurysm.
On April 20, 2010, the show was renewed for a second season by Syndication, as reported by Variety.
The show's second season premiered September 14, 2010. Later that year on November 15, it was announced that the show would be moving to Mondays at 10:00/9:00c beginning March 7th.
However, due to an overhaul of Syndication's "Law & Order: LA" putting the show on an indefinite hiatus, the network announced on January 18, 2011, that the show would remain in the Tuesday 10:00/9:00c time slot.
On May 12, 2011, the show was renewed for a third season and premiered at 10:00 p.m. on September 13, 2011.
On May 10, 2012, Syndication renewed "Parenthood" for a 15-episode fourth season. On April 26, 2013, Syndication renewed it for a fifth season, with 22 episodes.
On May 11, 2014, Syndication renewed the show for a sixth and final season, with 13 episodes after a stand-off with the cast which has seen their episode guarantee reduced.
Reception[]
The first season of "Parenthood" received generally positive reviews from critics, scoring a 61 out of 100 on the review aggregator Metacritic.
Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times said the show is "unexpectedly compelling" despite being reminiscent of "Brothers & Sisters". She praised the writing and the cast and described the show as "a coming-of-age drama for all ages".
Alan Sepinwall, writing for The Star-Ledger in Newark, wrote that "Like the movie that inspired it, Parenthood isn't an instant classic, but it's smart and warm and knowing, and it casts its net so wide that at least part of it should connect with you."
Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Parenthood isn't better than Modern Family, but it's different—it's its own creation, thanks to the deft touch and careful characterizations developed by executive producer Jason Katims and his writers."
Following the second season's premiere, Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "As the series has proceeded, what initially looked like a bunch of talented but disparate actors has cohered into a believable clan."
The Huffington Post's Maureen Ryan called it a "solidly rewarding drama" which is "something to treasure on the TV schedule".
The show was furthermore praised for the way it tackles Asperger's Syndrome; the moment during which Kristina and Adam explain to Max he has the syndrome was listed in TV Guide's "Top TV Moments of 2011" list.
Regarding the third season, The New Yorker writer Emily Nussbaum noted the show's positive development saying that it "has become stronger with each season".
She deemed "Parenthood" one of only two great dramas on network television next to "The Good Wife" & cited its ability to be warm and sentimental without being dumb as one of its strengths.
Sheri Levine of The Vancouver Sun wrote: "The cast moves effortlessly from providing serious, thoughtful answers to cracking jokes and allowing the funny moments to shine through. It's almost as though art is imitating life, or life imitating art."
TIME magazine columnist James Poniewozik wrote that the show's "third and fourth seasons have elevated it to one of TV's best because of how it has hit a memorable theme from FNL: the idea of how community can be, inseparably, both a burden and indispensable support."
Upon the fourth-season premiere, The Washington Post TV columnist Jen Chaney called the show "a perfect piece of 'reali-scapism': A television show that tackles subjects many of us confront in our own lives and dips all of it in just enough escapism to make it enjoyable to watch."
Rachel Stein of Television Without Pity felt that the show "possesses the same family bonding that Lorelai and Rory [of Gilmore Girls] had (times 18 for every member of this family), each episode has a lot of purposeful quirk and there's a certain quaintness about life that it captures in the Braverman clan."
The season was listed as one of the ten best seasons of television in 2012 in several publications, including the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Contra Costa Times, The Daily Beast, HitFix, Salon.com, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, TIME magazine, and TV Guide.
Writing for The Daily Beast, Jace Lacob highlighted Monica Potter's "breathtaking" performance, whose cancer storyline was "poignant" and "gripping".
Alan Sepinwall from HitFix commented: "this season's cancer storyline has brought a lot of what the show does well into even sharper focus, raising the stakes of almost every storyline in the process, and delivering fantastic, honestly tear-jerking performances."