Parenthood: An Appreciation

The "it" show of the moment is the popular family drama This is Us.  The time-jumping weepie is so big that it was given the coveted post-Super Bowl timeslot earlier this month.  Many devoted viewers don't realize that This is Us owes a lot of debt to Parenthood, another NBC family drama that went off the air just a few years ago.  While the quality was just as good (if not better) than the current ratings phenomenon, Parenthood (2010-2015) struggled to maintain its viewership for all of its 6 seasons, narrowly avoiding cancellation every year. 

Loosely based on the 1989 film of the same name, Parenthood follows the large extended Braverman family.  Active older couple Zeke (Craig T. Nelson) and Camille (Bonnie Bedelia) are parents to their 4 adult children: Adam (Peter Krause), Sarah (Lauren Graham), Julia (Erika Christensen), and Crosby (Dax Shepard).  Adam is the oldest and most straight-laced of the kids; he is married to longtime wife Kristina (Monica Potter) and father to kids Haddie (Sarah Ramos), Max (Max Burkholder), a teen struggling with Asperger's syndrome, and baby Nora, born in season 2.  Sarah, a former wild child that never quite settled down, is a single mom to kids Amber (Mae Whitman) and Drew (Miles Heizer).  Uptight Julia is a lawyer and is married to construction supervisor Joel (Sam Jaeger); their children are spoiled Sydney (Savannah Paige Rae) and adopted son Victor (Xolo Mariduena).  Finally, Crosby, the "screw-up" youngest child, discovers that he has a young son named Jabbar (Tyree Brown) in season 1 and later reunites with and marries Jabbar's mom Jasmine (Joy Bryant).  The couple eventually has another child named Aida.  Wow, that's a lot of characters, right?!  Viewers who watched only the pilot episode probably got overwhelmed by everyone onscreen and didn't want to invest the time to figure out this complicated family tree.  After a few episodes, however, I pieced all of it together pretty easily. 

For many shows, an overabundance of characters can lead to a lack of individual character development.  Parenthood, however, somehow always managed to give each of its characters time to shine.  The numerous characters also made it difficult for viewers to lose interest in the show; even if one plot was boring, there were always 3 or 4 other, stronger storylines going on at the same time that distracted from the weak spots.  The show had many memorable plots throughout its run, most notably Kristina's cancer battle in season 4, which earned Monica Potter a Golden Globe nomination (the only awards show recognition that the show ever received).  Potter brilliantly acted out every possible emotion during her character's season-long battle.  Max's struggle with Asperger's syndrome was a focal point throughout the series.  Actor Max Burkholder so skillfully portrayed his character's struggle with social cues and communication that for a long time I thought that the actor also had the disorder.  The addition of Hank (Ray Romano) as a love interest for Sarah in season 4 expanded on Max's story, because Hank also suffered from some of the same social anxieties and was able to form a close bond with Max.  There was also Drew's girlfriend Amy's (Skyler Day) unplanned pregnancy and abortion in season 4 (easily the strongest season), a plotline that could have easily entered preachy "after-school special" territory but instead told a real human story about the characters and gave the actors a chance to shine.  Finally, Adam's connection with brother Crosby (characters with very different personalities) was another strong spot.  They memorably opened a recording studio together (The Luncheonette) and even hired Amber on as an assistant.  This plot added a fun element to the show and gave some (mostly) up-and-coming musicians a chance to perform on the show.

The weakest part of the show was always Julia's branch of the family, but even she was able to shine in some spots, and Christensen and Jaeger always did their best with the material that was written for them.  In general Julia came across as a bit of a whiny know-it-all, and young daughter Sydney was a little brat, the most unappealing character on the show.  Julia seemed a bit mismatched with the good-natured but boring Joel.  The adoption storyline in season 3, when the couple adopted troubled pre-teen Victor, added a little drama to the family, but whenever this part of the family was onscreen I was still usually wishing to see more of the other characters instead.  Julia and Joel went through a long separation during much of seasons 5 and 6, and I was actually a little disappointed when they reunited at the end of the season, because they were just not a good match. 

Parenthood is available to watch on Netflix and Hulu.  With so many concurrent plots unfolding onscreen, it will be easy to binge the entire series in no time.  By the end the characters will feel like familiar family members, and after the heartbreaking and pitch-perfect series finale you won't want to say goodbye.  Here's hoping for a reboot sometime in the future, because this family deserves to be revisited.