''Parenthood'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

television series based on the

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

film of the same name. Executive produced by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of '' The Twilight Zone''. ...

(who also co-wrote and directed the film), the series aired for one season on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from August 20, 1990, to August 11, 1991. ''Parenthood'' was one of many failed movie-to-TV adaptations in the 1990–91 season, also including ''

Baby Talk Baby talk is a type of speech associated with an older person speaking to a child or infant. It is also called caretaker speech, infant-directed speech (IDS), child-directed speech (CDS), child-directed language (CDL), caregiver register, parent ...

'' on ABC's TGIF (a follow up to '' Look Who's Talking''), ''

Ferris Bueller ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck with supporting roles by Jennifer Gre ...

'' on NBC and ''

Uncle Buck ''Uncle Buck'' is a 1989 American comedy film written and directed by John Hughes, and starring John Candy and Amy Madigan with supporting roles by Jean Louisa Kelly (in her film debut), Macaulay Culkin, Gaby Hoffmann, Garrett M. Brown and E ...

'' on CBS.

Synopsis

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 St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

). The Huffners of the film were renamed the Merricks on the TV series. The pilot episode was considered by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' and the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' as the best movie-to-TV spin-off since ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. T ...

''. 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 Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television serie ...

. The cast featured Leonardo DiCaprio,

David Arquette David Arquette (born September 8, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film franchise ''Scream'', for which he won a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster En ...

, and

Thora Birch Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American actress and producer. She made her feature film debut in 1988 with a starring role in ''Purple People Eater'', for which she received a Young Artist Award for "Best Young Actress Under Nine Years ...

(billed simply as "Thora" here).

Cast and characters

as Tod Hawks (portrayed by

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

in the film) *

Jayne Atkinson Jayne Atkinson (born 18 February 1959) is a British-American actress. She is best known for the role of Karen Hayes on '' 24'', as well as her Tony Award–nominated roles in '' The Rainmaker'' and '' Enchanted April''. She has also appeared i ...

as Karen Buckman (portrayed by

Mary Steenburgen Mary Nell Steenburgen (; born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in 1978 Western comedy film '' Goin ...

in the film) *

Ed Begley Jr. Edward James Begley Jr. (born September 16, 1949) is an American actor and environmental activist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series ''St. E ...

as Gil Buckman (portrayed by

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

in the film) *

as Taylor Buckman (portrayed by

Alisan Porter Alisan Leigh Porter (born June 20, 1981) is an American pop, rock & country singer, actress, and dancer. As a child, Porter made acting appearances in '' Parenthood'', '' Stella'' and ''I Love You to Death''. Her breakout role came in 1991, when ...

in the film) *

Maryedith Burrell Maryedith Ann Burrell (née Smith; born May 20, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, film and television producer, writer and documentarian best known for starring roles on the television series '' Fridays'', ''Throb'', Ron Howard's '' Parenth ...

as Helen Buckman (portrayed by

Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986’s '' Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994’s ''Bullets over Broadway'' (both of which were directed by Woo ...

in the film) * Leonardo DiCaprio as Garry Buckman (portrayed by

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academ ...

in the film) * Mary Jackson as Great Grandma Greenwell (portrayed by Helen Shaw in the film) *Zachary La Voy as Justin Buckman (reprising his role in the film) *

Sheila MacRae Sheila Margaret MacRae (née Stephens; 24 September 1921 – 6 March 2014) was an English-born American actress, singer, and dancer. Career MacRae appeared in such films as ''Caged'' (1950), '' Backfire'' (1950), and ''Sex and the Single Girl ...

as Marilyn Buckman (portrayed by Eileen Ryan in the film) *Bess Meyer as Julie Buckman Hawks (portrayed by

Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton (born November 16, 1970) is an American actress. Her feature-film debut was in ''Rollover'' (1981); she subsequently rose to prominence in the Richard Donner film '' The Goonies'' (1985). She has also appeared in '' The Mosquito ...

in the film) *Susan Norman as Susan Buckman Merrick (portrayed by Harley Jane Kozak in the film) *

Ken Ober Ken Ober (July 3, 1957 – November 15, 2009) was an American game show host, comedian, and actor. Early life and career Born Kenneth Oberding in Brookline, Massachusetts, he was raised in a suburb of Hartford, Connecticut, where his fir ...

as Nathan Merrick (portrayed by Rick Moranis in the film) * Ivyann Schwan as Patty Merrick (reprising her role in the film) *

Max Elliott Slade Max Elliott Slade (born July 4, 1980) is an American former child actor who starred in ''3 Ninjas'', '' 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up'', and ''3 Ninjas Kick Back '' as the character named Jeffrey Douglas, later nicknamed Colt by his grandfather Mori Tanaka. ...

as Kevin Buckman (portrayed by

Jasen Fisher Jasen Lee Fisher (born May 8, 1980) is an American former child actor. Career He made his first film appearance in '' Parenthood'' (1989) as Kevin Buckman alongside Steve Martin and Rick Moranis, receiving a nomination for a Young Artist Award as ...

in the film) * William Windom as Frank Buckman (portrayed by

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

in the film) *Max Elliott Slade, who portrayed Kevin Buckman on the TV series also portrayed a younger version of Steve Martin's character in the film.

Episodes

Syndication

The show was featured on the now-defunct cable network Trio in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

as part of their "Brilliant But Cancelled" series of shows that were cancelled before their time.

New series

A new television adaptation of the movie premiered on NBC in March 2010 and ran until January 2015. Craig T. Nelson and

Bonnie Bedelia Bonnie Bedelia Culkin (born ) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera '' Love of Life'' and made her film debut in '' The Gypsy Moths''. Bedelia subsequently appea ...

played the parental roles, joined by

Peter Krause Peter William Krause (; born August 12, 1965) is an American actor, director, and producer. He has played lead roles in multiple television series, portraying Casey McCall on '' Sports Night'' (1998–2000), Nate Fisher on '' Six Feet Under'' ( ...

Lauren Graham Lauren Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Lorelai Gilmore on The WB/ CW television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), for which she received nominations for Screen Actors Guil ...

, Erika Christensen,

Dax Shepard Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker and podcast host. Since 2018, he has hosted ''Armchair Expert'', a podcast that interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives. Shepard ha ...

and

Monica Potter Monica Gregg Potter (née Brokaw; born June 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles in the films ''Con Air'' (1997), ''Patch Adams'' (1998), and '' Along Came a Spider'' (2001). She also appeared in the horror films ...

References

External links

On the set of ''Parenthood'' -- a behind the scenes look at the NBC sitcom that does a convincing imitation of family life
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parenthood (1990 Tv Series) 1990 American television series debuts 1991 American television series endings 1990s American single-camera sitcoms English-language television shows NBC original programming Live action television shows based on films Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in California Television series about families Parenthood (franchise) Television series by Imagine Entertainment