Parenthood (2010 TV series)
Parenthood is an American family comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Katims and produced by Imagine Television and Universal Television for NBC. The show tells of the Braverman clan, consisting of an older couple, their four children, and their families.
This article is about the 2010 TV series. For the 1990 series, see Parenthood (1990 TV series).Parenthood
- "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan
- "When We Were Young" by Lucy Schwartz (international version)
United States
English
6
103 (list of episodes)
- Ron Howard
- Brian Grazer
- Jason Katims
- Lawrence Trilling
- Sarah Watson
- David Nevins
- Dylan K. Massin
- Patrick Ward
- Jessica Goldberg
43. minutes
- True Jack Productions
- Imagine Television
- Universal Media Studios (seasons 1–3)
- Universal Television (seasons 3–6)
- Open 4 Business Productions
March 2, 2010 –
January 29, 2015
Loosely based on the 1989 film of the same name, the series is the second adaptation of the film to air on television, preceded by the 1990–91 TV series, which also aired on NBC. Following the release of Friday Night Lights, Katims approached Ron Howard and Brian Grazer with the idea of creating an updated, modern adaptation of the 1989 film and bringing it to television.[1]
The series ran for six seasons from March 2, 2010, to January 29, 2015. The series was well received by television critics and earned several nominations and awards, including one Vision Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Television Academy Honors awards, four Young Artist Awards, and three Entertainment Industries Council PRISM Awards. Despite positive reviews, the series never gained a strong audience; the pilot received the highest audience figures, with ratings declining thereafter.
The sixth and final season, consisting of 13 episodes,[2] premiered on September 25, 2014.[3] The series finale aired on January 29, 2015.[4]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
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 NBC but 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.[1] The show was given the green-light from NBC in January 2009,[5] and Katims finished writing the pilot script in early 2009.[6]
Casting[edit]
Erika Christensen was the first actress to land a role in the pilot in early March 2009.[7] 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 drama.[8] Nelson came aboard the project after passing on the role of Jay Pritchett in Modern Family.[9] In April, Max Burkholder was chosen to portray Peter Krause's son.[10] In that same month Bonnie Bedelia, Sam Jaeger and Monica Potter were cast.[11] 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.[11][12]
The series was originally scheduled to premiere on NBC on September 23, 2009.[13] However, on July 10, 2009, it was announced that Parenthood would be pushed back to midseason due to Tierney's breast cancer diagnosis.[14] On September 10, 2009, a spokesperson for Tierney announced that she was leaving the show because of conflicts with her treatment schedule.[15] Tierney's already-filmed scenes were deleted.[16] 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 NBC could not come to a financial deal.[17] The pilot was reshot in November.[6]
Max Burkholder, who portrays a boy who has Asperger's, explained how they ensure his portrayal is accurate:
Parenthood (Original Television Soundtrack)
August 31, 2010 (Digital), October 5, 2010 (CD)
Arrival Records / Scion Music Group
October 8, 2013
J-2 Music
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Parenthood's first season received generally positive reviews from critics, scoring a 61 out of 100 on the review aggregator Metacritic.[37] Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times said Parenthood 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".[38] 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."[39] 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."[40]
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."[41] The Huffington Post's Maureen Ryan called it a "solidly rewarding drama" which is "something to treasure on the TV schedule".[42] Parenthood was furthermore praised for the way it tackles Asperger's. 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.[43]
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 and cited its ability to be warm and sentimental without being dumb as one of its strengths.[44] 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."[45] 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."[46]
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."[47] 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."[48] The season was listed as one of the 10 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.[49] Writing for The Daily Beast, Jace Lacob highlighted Monica Potter's "breathtaking" performance, whose cancer storyline was "poignant" and "gripping".[50] 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."[51]
Italian adaptation[edit]
In December 2015 an adaptation of Parenthood entitled Tutto può succedere (Anything can happen) began broadcasting on the Italian state TV channel RaiUno. The plot follows the fortunes of the Ferraro family, based in various locations in and around Rome. Principal actors include Giorgio Colangeli as father/grandfather Ettore Ferraro, Licia Maglietta as mother/grandmother Emma and Maya Sansa as daughter/mother Sara.[106]