| Parenthood | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Directed by | Alan Myerson Betty Thomas Allan Arkush Matia Karrell |
| Starring | Ed Begley Jr. Jayne Atkinson Max Elliott Slade Thora Birch Zachary La Voy Maryedith Burrell Bess Meyer David Arquette Leonardo DiCaprio Ken Ober Susan Gayle Norman Ivyann Schwan Mary Jackson Sheila MacRae William Windom |
| Opening theme | "I Love to See You Smile" performed by Randy Newman |
| Composer | Mason Daring |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Ron Howard David Tyron King |
| Producer | Sascha Schneider |
| Editors | Joanne D'Antonio Briana London |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Imagine Television Universal Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | August 20, 1990 – August 11, 1991 |
| Related | |
Parenthood is an American sitcom television series based on the 1989 film of the same name. Executive produced by Ron Howard (who also co-wrote and directed the film), the series aired for one season on NBC from August 20, 1990, to August 11, 1991.[1]
Parenthood was one of many failed movie-to-TV adaptations in the 1990–91 season, also including Baby Talk on ABC's TGIF (a follow-up to Look Who's Talking), Ferris Bueller on NBC and Uncle Buck on CBS.[2]
The series delivered seriocomic vignettes on rearing children, revolving around four generations of a middle-class California family, the Buckmans (the movie took place in St. Louis, Missouri). The Huffners of the film were renamed the Merricks on the TV series.
The pilot episode was considered by USA Today and the New York Post as the best movie-to-TV spin-off since M*A*S*H.[3][4] However, ratings for the series were low and Parenthood was canceled after 12 episodes.
The series is notable for featuring a number of people who at the time were unheard of but later became famous. One of the writers on the show was Joss Whedon. The cast featured Leonardo DiCaprio, David Arquette, and Thora Birch (billed simply as "Thora" here).
*Max Elliott Slade, who portrayed Kevin Buckman on the TV series also portrayed a younger version of Steve Martin's character in the film.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Allan Arkush | Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel | August 20, 1990 | 101 |
| 2 | "My Dad Can Beat Up Your BMW" | Allan Arkush | David Tyron King | September 22, 1990 | 102 |
| 3 | "The Plague" | Alan Myerson | Joss Whedon | September 29, 1990 | 103 |
| 4 | "I Never Invested for My Father" | Betty Thomas | David Tyron King | October 6, 1990 | 104 |
| 5 | "Love Stinks" | Allan Arkush | Russ Woody | October 13, 1990 | 105 |
| 6 | "Cars & Cards" | Alan Myerson | Glen Merzer | October 20, 1990 | 106 |
| 7 | "Hollow Halloween" | Allan Arkush | Jerry Lacy | October 27, 1990 | 107 |
| 8 | "Small Surprises" | Matia Karrell | Joss Whedon | November 3, 1990 | 108 |
| 9 | "Take My Parents, Please" | Allan Arkush | Russ Woody | November 10, 1990 | 109 |
| 10 | "Thanksgiving with a T that Rhymes with B that Stands for Basketball" | Betty Thomas | David Tyron King | November 17, 1990 | 110 |
| 11 | "Gil vs. the Deck" | Matia Karrell | Allison M. Gibson | December 16, 1990 | 111 |
| 12 | "Fun For Kids" | Allan Arkush | David Tyron King, Joss Whedon | August 11, 1991 | 112 |
The show was featured on the now-defunct cable network Trio in 2005 as part of their "Brilliant But Cancelled" series of shows that were cancelled before their time.
A new television adaptation of the movie[5] premiered on NBC in March 2010 and ran until January 2015. Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia played the parental roles, joined by Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Erika Christensen, Dax Shepard and Monica Potter.[6]
