NBC takes on “Parenthood,” again
By Stacey Harrison
If NBC has a hit on its hands with Parenthood, it’ll certainly have earned it.
The network first attempted to adapt Ron Howard’s 1989 dramedy as a half-hour show back in 1990 — a straight-up adaptation with Ed Begley Jr. in the Steve Martin role. It lasted one season and is memorable now mainly as an early screen credit for Leonardo DiCaprio and David Arquette. Twenty years later, the concept was revived with a new set of characters and situations to explore. Howard was back as executive producer, and the all-star cast included Peter Krause, Craig T. Nelson, Monica Potter, Bonnie Bedelia, Erika Christensen, Dax Shepard, and in a critical role as troubled sister and single mom Sarah, Maura Tierney. The pilot had been completed and sent out to critics for the show’s premiere last fall. Before that could happen, though, Tierney announced that she had to leave the show to fight her newly diagnosed breast cancer. That left the production having to recast the role and shoot a new pilot.
Enter Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls), who joined the cast and has sought to make the role her own, having to answer just as many questions about Tierney as anything else. That should all be over tonight after the pilot premieres. The many plights of the Braverman clan — the pilot alone covers overbearing sports fathers, adult children moving back home, teen rebellion, work/life balance, an autistic child and unexpected paternity — provide plenty of drama that could make it NBC’s first step toward making amends for The Jay Leno Show.
I spoke with Krause and Christensen at a recent press tour to get their thoughts on their characters and why they connected to them. [Read more →]





