The cast of PARENTHOOD
Before the latest version of Parenthood hit the air last week, it already had an interesting and unusual back story. First a Ron Howard-directed film starring Steve Martin in 1989, a failed television adaptation in 1990 with Ed Begley, Jr. starring. But, when Friday Night Lights creator Jason Katims came to Howard and Brian Grazer to talk about a new version, the longtime partners had an important question for him. “We frankly said in that first meeting,” Howard explained, “you’re a pretty creative guy why don’t you just make up your own family?” According to Howard, Katims replied, “It’s like a book or a play or anything that you can make a strong adaptation from, there’s something in the DNA of those characters and the family dynamics that I think I can build upon.”
Howard, Katims and series star Lauren Graham recently talked to the press about the making of this series as well as Graham’s stepping in after the original pilot was shot when Maura Tierney had to unexpectedly drop out. First, though, Katims explained his thought process of putting the series together. “The idea of the show is to sort of try to explore as much about the experience of parenthood as we can. And that includes the joyous moments, the celebration of family. It includes the embarrassing funny moments …and some very dramatic stuff, which includes having a kid with special needs, which is something that is very much a part of the show. What I’m really proud of so far having now shot the first handful of episodes and seeing a few cuts, what I’m very proud of is that I think not only are we dealing with that subject matter in a way that honors it and is real, but it’s also done in a way that is not self-pitying and depressing.”
Graham with GILMORE GIRLS co-star Alexis Bledel
Tierney, best known for her long-running role of Abby Lockhart on ER, originally played the role of Sarah but had to drop out due to her battle against breast cancer. Now that she’s on her way to recovery, would Katims write a part for the Tierney in the future? “You know, I have no idea whether that would happen. I mean, obviously I love Maura, love the work that she does and right now she’s doing what she kind of needs to do to get healthy and get back to a place where we might have that conversation. But it’s nothing like that is anything that we’ve talk about yet.”
While Graham said she did not watch the original pilot shot with Tierney, she talked about the difficulties of stepping into the role and ensemble. “It felt really difficult in ways. I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to really do a great job. And I push anyway but then this just felt like I hoped that it would go well and I hoped that we would all gel. And I hoped that actors wouldn’t mind doing a scene a second time, you know, with me. Ron mentioned it earlier, but I do have to say it didn’t feel so much like taking over or anything…it wasn’t like that. It was like we all together kind of started anew.”
At the Television Critics Assoc in January: (back, l-r) Dax Shepard, Erika Christianson, Monica Potter. (front, l-r) Ron Howard, Jason Katims.
Graham said when it came down to do the series, the decision really came from her gut. “I have been reading scripts for two and a half years or three years, whatever it is since Gilmore Girls ended. And there just wasn’t anything I connected to and that’s including things that I was developing that maybe didn’t get to exactly the place I wanted them to. It follows like the dating model of you have a list of things that you want and then you meet somebody and fall in love and half the things were not on your list. And this is kind of that in the ways that I didn’t plan to play a Mom, I didn’t plan to do an ensemble, I sort of was thinking about a comedy and maybe cable. And then, you know, and then I read this script and I met with Jason. And just the idea of being able to collaborate with a writer who has such a beautiful group of work but also is encouraging in the take your idea and kind of run with it and improvise once in a while if that makes sense to you.”
The casting of the family was an incredible experience, said Katims. “You’re trying to create a family, you’re trying to create a group of people who when you put them together the sum will be greater than its parts. And so that’s what was sort of that was what was, you know, the complicated and challenging part of it is making sure not only were you getting wonderful people for the roles which is what you’re always doing.
If you look at the people we were lucky enough to be able to work with – with Lauren and Peter [Krause] and Craig [T. Nelson] and on and on and Bonnie Bedelia…I feel so excited and humbled by having this sort of embarrassment of riches is really what it is. And that wouldn’t have happened had we not gotten the support from the network to say you know what we’re not just going to put one person in this that we could go out and sell, we’re going to build a beautiful show here and we’re going to put our resources behind it.”
Having been involved in television since he was a child starring on The Andy Griffith Show, Howard was asked what he thinks of the television landscape today. “There’s more going on and so there are more opportunities to stub your toe along with doing something really special. But I think that cable TV and the series – the short 12 and 13 episodes a season cable shows have really been great for the medium because I also think it sort of challenges the more traditional network shows in exciting ways. I love the variety that you find on TV. I think that from an acting standpoint and a writing standpoint it’s pound for pound the best work in the world is going on in that medium.”
Parenthood airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
Jim Halterman spends his days interviewing the top tier of talent and creative forces in the television world and then, because he's that kind of guy, he brings it all to YOU! And, because we all like free stuff, check back often for giveaways!! 
