Parenthood Review: NBC Series Premiere

I was just a kid when the film Parenthood came out and though I was too young to get some of the jokes, most of the humor and the drama still translated. Based on the pilot episode of the series, it seems the same will likely be the case for the small screen version of the story. Comparisons to the film aside, Parenthood looks like it could be a fantastic new show that will have viewers rooting for the characters, celebrating their victories and empathizing with them through their challenges.

Inspired by the film, Parenthood follows the Braverman family as they tackle the struggles of being grown-ups and trying to raise kids. Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham) is a single mom who recently uprooted her teenaged kids to move them up to Berkeley to be near the rest of her family. Craig T. Nelson plays Zeek, the father and grandfather of the Braverman clan. He and his wife Camille (Bonnie Bedelia) may be done raising their own kids for the most part but they have martial struggles of their own to deal with.

Adam and Kristina (Peter Krause and Monica Potter) have a fairly balanced marriage but they’re faced with the challenge of learning that their son has Asperger’s Syndrome. Erika Christensen plays Julia, Sarah's sister. She's a successful career woman who's trying to manage her career while also finding time for her family. And finally, there’s Crosby (Dax Shepard), a man who’s trying to hang on to his youth while his girlfriend is ready to move forward in their relationship and start a family.

Lauren Graham shines in her role as Sarah. It’s easy to see from Graham’s performance that Sarah’s a character trying to balance being a mother with being a woman. Life hasn’t turned out like she hoped but she hasn’t lost the nerve to push forward and try to motivate her kids to become good people. Krause and Potter excel in their roles as parents dealing with the knowledge that their son might not fit in due to a behavioral disorder. I remember Steve Martin’s character going through a similar thing in the film and though there’s an actual diagnosis in the show, the way Adam approaches his son’s issues is not all that different from how it was portrayed in the film. He just wants his son to be a “normal kid” but he and his wife are quickly learning that this isn’t something that can be forced.

Shepard’s character Crosby adds a comedic element to the show but he’s also very relatable as the guy who isn’t quite ready to be a grown-up yet. And at the top of the Braverman family tree, Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia both deliver fine performances as parents who are still parenting, despite the fact that their kids are all grown.

One of the reservations I had about Parenthood before watching the pilot episode was that this new show, like so many other family-centered dramas on TV, would focus on the trials of parenting and growing up so much that I’d be forced to wonder why anyone would ever want to have kids. Sure, it takes some element of drama in just about any series to keep the story moving along, however I’ve often found that some shows have a tendency to wallow in the drama of family life and forget to celebrate those little moments that make it all worthwhile. Based on the pilot, it seems Parenthood will be a lot like the film in that it approaches family life both from a comedic and dramatic perspective, giving viewers characters and a story they can empathize with and also be entertained by.



Parenthood: Series Premiere
Starring: Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Dax Shepard, Joy Bryant, Max Burkholder, Erika Christensen, Miles Heizer, Sam Jaeger, Monica Potter, Savannah Rae, Sarah Ramos, Mae Whitman, with Bonnie Bedelia and Craig T. Nelson
Executive Producers: Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Jason Katims, David Nevins, Thomas Schlamme (pilot)
Premieres: Tuesday, March 2 at 10:00 PM ET/PT on NBC.