Ron Howard and Lauren Graham
Oscar-winning director/producer Ron Howard knows a thing or two about creating a movie version of one of his TV shows or a TV version of one of his movies. A big-screen adaptation of his Emmy-winning TV series "Arrested Development" is in the works, and there was a TV series based on his 2006 film "Curious George." Howard is one of the executive producers of the drama series "Parenthood," which is inspired by the 1989 comedic feature film "Parenthood" that Howard directed. Plans for a "Parenthood" sitcom in 1990 eventually fizzled, but now the series has been reimagined as an ensemble drama about three generations of the fictional Braverman family in Northern California, and the family's various problems. The series premiere of "Parenthood" airs March 2 on NBC in at 10 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time.
Stars of the "Parenthood" series include several actors who have lengthy résumés in film and TV, including Lauren Graham, Peter Krause, Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia, Dax Shepard, Monica Potter and Erika Christensen. In "Parenthood," Graham (whose previous TV series was the long-running "Gilmore Girls") plays single mom Sarah Braverman, who moves back into her parents’ home with her two teenage kids after her marriage and finances fall apart. Former "ER" star Maura Tierney was originally cast in the Sarah Braverman role, but had to bow out after being diagnosed with breast cancer, and Graham stepped into the role.
During a recent telephone conference call with reporters, Graham and Howard talked about their return to series television. "Parenthood" executive producer/writer Jason Katims (who has the same role on the TV series "Friday Night Lights") also participated in the conference call. Among the topic covered in this interview were Katims facing the challenges of juggling two TV series at the same time; what convinced Graham to play single mother again in another TV series; and why Howard thinks "Parenthood" on TV works better as a drama than as a comedy.
Ron Howard and Jason Katims at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
Are you getting more comedy into the ""Parenthood" episodes as they go along? How’s it going so far?
Katims: Anytime you start a show, you’re sort of trying to find that balance and figure out, sort of discover the tone of the show and what the show wants to be. And one of the things that I'm so excited about … as we've gone into episodes is we've found more and more humor. But it’s really the humor of life, it’s the humor that you find in dealing with parenthood and family … That’s what I like about the humor that we’re finding it just feels very relatable and real; to me, it doesn't feel like it’s too broad or trying or going into a place that is in any way sort of not really relatable.
Ron, you've done a lot of parenthood in your life. Overall, is there a lot of room for humor in it?
Howard: Well, it’s unavoidable. , like Jason was just saying, I mean, it might not feel funny in the moment, you’re right, but gratefully more often than not, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and you can personally look back and find the humor in it. Others can always see the how ridiculous other people’s lives are. They might not tell them right to their face, but they could see it.
It is that sort of elevator ride that I think makes stories on the subject of parenting and being a part of a family so relatable and so entertaining. And I've loved what Jason has been doing with the sort of the family that we started 20 years ago. Ever since our first conversation and from the first script onward, has such a fantastic contemporary take on the whole thing that I've been nothing but proud of it.
Ron Howard at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
Ron, what is it about parenthood, the premise, the title, the franchise, that keeps you coming back?
Howard: Well the interesting thing — and I've got to include Jason in this — because we - Brian Grazer and I are intensely proud of the film "Parenthood." Our friends [Lowell] Ganz and [Babaloo] Mandel did a brilliant job writing it. And it remains a movie that people compliment us on. We tried a television series a couple years after it, and it couldn't capture the sort of the scope of the family; it was a half-hour sort of sitcom approach. And it was frustrating in that way. And we thought that was sort of the end of "Parenthood."
We would even toy occasionally with trying to do a sequel. But we felt like another two hours on the subject was not going to be particularly more informative. A series would have allowed the characters to develop but just another movie would probably not be a good creative idea. And then Jason came to Brian and [me], and of course we know Jason from "Friday Night Lights," where he does a spectacular job and said, "I want to do a one-hour dramatic version of ‘Parenthood.’" And we were thrilled, Brian and I, very open to the idea because of Jason and his talent and our experience with him.
But also, we frankly said in that first meeting, "You’re a pretty creative guy why don't you just make up your own family?" And at the time I wanted to take this because at the time he said, "Well, 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."
And lo and behold, he’s given every character its own contemporary voice and of course the actors are now going even further with it. But I'm just incredibly sort of gratified that those characters, that situation, the DNA of that family can evolve. And now I know it'll continue to in the right way where you can really understand so much about what it is to be a family member or a parent. We had the quick conversation and then we just took yes for an answer and we’re glad. What were you thinking?
Lauren Graham at the "Parenthood" TV series premiere in Los Angeles
Katims: Well, yeah, I think sort of going back and looking at the movie again I felt that truthfully I felt that it was so rich and that … not only was the movie so wonderful, but the world that was created in that movie was so rich and so ripe with possibilities. And I kept thinking I want to see more, I want to know more about them, I want to live with these people. And that to me is the key to, it seems like, "Oh yeah, come up with a TV show it seems like an easy thing to do." But it’s a very hard thing to try to figure out the ingredients that would make a good show. And I felt like not only was it a wonderful movie but in the movie I just was sort of the perfect sort of foundation for what could be a really wonderful show. And honestly, the show that I would want to watch. That’s why I was really drawn to it; this is the kind of TV show that I would want to watch.
It’s the stuff that sort of most compelling to me right now, it’s the stuff I'm thinking about most right now in my life. And I think that’s always the thing that you should try to let guide you as you try to figure out what you want to write. And, of course, the other side of it is I've had such a wonderful experience with Ron and Brian and everybody at Imagine on "Friday Night Lights." I also thought it would be a good thing for me and hopefully for everyone to sort of find something else to do together.
And the combination of those two things made me feel like this was just too good of a thing to not pursue. And even though I had to sort of go into Ron and Brian, I felt kind of humble going into them saying I want to because I know there had been a show that had been that had been done already based on it. But I was so kind of excited and passionate about the idea of trying to do it that that’s what made me sort of talk to them. And what got me really excited was once I did talk to them that they were really interested in only doing the show if we could reimagine it, not do something which is a copy of the movie but to let the movie inspire something that is new.
Ron Howard, Jason Katims and Peter Krause at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
Max Braverman, one of the child characters on the show, has Asperger’s Syndrome. Are you going to expand on children’s issues, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder?
Howard: Well, you’re talking to me and the question really needs to be directed to Jason because it really is his vision. But I mean, the short answer is that I know that if we’re lucky enough to have the show go that all aspects of it, the stuff that makes us laugh and also the painful realities of the experience are what he wants to build on. But specifically, we haven't discussed that. Jason?
Katims: 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. But it also includes 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. Really knowing what that experience is like firsthand I know that it's as much of a blessing as it is a curse. And I feel that that is reflected in the work that we’re doing.
The title "Parenthood" may discourage some people from seeing it because they feel like they can't relate to it except the parents. What will be the attraction you think for young kids or people that don't have children to watch the show?
Katims: The reason why I wanted to do this show is because it allows you to come at it from so many points of view. We have ages in the show covered from a 4-year-old boy to grandparents in their 60s. And should the show go long enough, I'd like to go to the next generation up from that.
It allows us to see through people at any period of their life; you can both look at it and be in it as you’re watching. So I think it’s as interesting for younger people to watch it not only to see hopefully to some degree themselves reflected but to see what happens behind the doors when they’re not there when their parents are talking about them. I think that’s interesting too. I would be interested in that if I were a kid.
Jason Katims at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
Why did you decide to have a child with Asperger’s Syndrome in the story? Do you have autism consultants working on the show?
Katims: Yes, we do. I think that what I find more and more from my own personal experience in life but with knowing so many people. What you find is everybody’s dealing with something. And one of the basic, defining principals that I had when I was thinking about what I wanted the show to be was the idea that your children are never the people you expected them to be. You’re surprised by them.
That’s something that is really what I think a lot of what parenthood is about: figuring out how to deal with that and fight that and ultimately maybe accept that. And I think that to deal with an issue like that is in many ways a scary issue to confront. But in many ways, I just think it speaks to what so many people are dealing with. Obviously, not specifically with Asperger’s but that’s what I find honestly.
What I find when I see people is like everything looks a certain way from the outside. And then when you get inside their homes or you talk to people and meet them and really get to know what’s going on, everybody’s dealing with something. And so I wanted that to be part of the show. As much as I want this show to be fun, and it is, and a celebration of family, which it is, I also wanted to be real and to see people sort of grappling with stuff that creates real challenges. And probably the Asperger’s diagnosis wasn't really on the radar — at least it wasn't on ours 20 years ago when we made this.
Howard: But most of the elements from the movie, and I think largely from the show now are coming from personal perspectives and personal experiences. And the same can be said for that aspect of that story.
Lauren Graham in "Parenthood"
Lauren, can you just talk about first of all the differences between being part of a kind of a big ensemble as opposed to more or less carrying a show like you did with "Gilmore Girls"? And also now that you’re a ways into "Parenthood," what are some of the things you may have discovered about your character?
Graham: Well it’s a more sane life, for sure, to be part of an ensemble. And I find that the work can be more specific. Therefore, I have to really make sure I know where I am in the story because I'm not in every scene and I have to sort of think about it as an actor in terms of the arc of each episode in a more deep way instead of trusting that since I'm in most of the scenes, I can kind of gauge where I am.
So I've found this work really gratifying because it is more specific you’re working with a smaller amount of material and therefore everything is really important. And on "Gilmore Girls," sometimes I'd be in a scene that was just there kind of for fun. And here [in "Parenthood"], each scene really is an important part of where my character is. And so that’s been really interesting. I don't see dawn as much as I did on the other show which has been really enjoyable.
I think what I've discovered and what I've really enjoyed … is just finding the ways in which this character just continues to sort of feel like it’s too strong to say, like a failure. But as opposed to maybe Lorelai Gilmore, who had a very sunny outlook on things, it’s been really interesting for me to play someone who is kind of shouldering a lot of baggage, in terms of being disappointed about where she is in life and just the feeling of living in your parents’ house at 38 and how that informs everything and doesn't make you feel too great. And so it’s just trying to think about looking at life through the eyes of disappointment is kind of a thing I think about a lot with Sarah.
Ron and Jason, will we be seeing more of Mike O'Malley in "Parenthood"?
Katims: Yeah, he is in the third episode and then right now we’re planning to bring him back again later in the season for one more episode so far and then depending on how those two crazy kids work it out maybe more; we don't know yet.
Lauren Graham at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
Lauren, did you watch the original "Parenthood" pilot with Maura Tierney or did you stay away from it so it wouldn't get in the way?
Graham: I didn't watch it, no.
Ron and Jason, is there a chance that Maura might turn up on the show in the future in a guest spot or something?
Katims: I have no idea whether that would happen. I mean, obviously, I love Maura, love the work that she does, and I mean, 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.
Ron, this question is more directed to you. Jason talked a little bit about how kids surprise you and they do things that you didn't expect. So I was wondering if you could talk about how being a dad has affected any input you've had on the show. And kind of an off the wall question: Your daughter Bryce did the "Twilight" movie "Eclipse." Can you compare children to vampires?
Graham: My God, good luck.
Howard: Children to vampires. Well, I got to say I felt safe when the sun when down in my household. So I have a hard time drawing that parallel. But I had good kids. I think all of our parenting experiences are going to come in to play — and that’s Jason and the staff and all of us involved. But it’s certainly as it continues to grow it’s also going to be the actors. What’s great about this is that I don't think I've ever seen a cast just sort of gel from the first moment of the life of a show the way this cast has. And so I know that this cast is going to carry their personal understanding of these relationships into the show in ways that the audiences are going to feel.
The one specific thing is that Bryce has a son who’s almost 3. And when I was making "Parenthood," we had grandparents and they were significant. But I didn't remotely understand how profound that experience is. And so I think that’s something that this show will be able to develop also that audiences really relate to.
It’s interesting when you become a grandparent, you start bumping into other folks who have had that experience. There’s this sort of wink and a nod like it’s a particular sort of a club or something. And it’s very difficult to articulate sort of how it works and why it runs so deep. But the series is going to be able to do that in ways that I think are going to be relatable and entertaining on a whole other dimension.
Mae Whitman, Lauren Graham and Miles Heizer in "Parenthood"
Lauren, what was behind your decision like to come back to TV? And what do you think it is about you and playing great moms on TV?
Graham: Well, the decision was kind of just a very instinctual one. 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.
And I always think about, 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 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 "Yeah, take your idea and kind of run with it and improvise once in a while if that makes sense to you." It’s just a very different model from the show that I had come from. And so it just seemed like a good idea.
And what is it with you playing moms? Do real moms ask you for advice?
Graham: They do. Well and that’s sort of one thing I said to Jason. I don't know what the thing is, because my dad essentially raised me and I think if there’s any sort of connection I have it’s that I don't have an idea of what a mom is supposed to be. I just kind of look at who the person is. And also I've been extremely fortunate to have kids who play my kids who are really easy to love. And even in this case with Mae Whitman who we have a very contentious relationship on the show but there’s a chemistry in that that you really have to have. And I've just been really lucky to have that.
And, yes, moms do ask me for advice. And I say, "I don't know how to help you." But I did say to Jason when we started this that I've been in a place where people are like, "Oh, my mom is just like you." And they mean that as a compliment. And that wasn't so much my interest going forward, I was like, I don't necessarily want anyone to want to be me as a mom on this show. Like that’s what I like about her is that she’s really kind of doing things in a more haphazard way and isn't always noble and doesn't always make the right choice. And so that felt different enough to me to that it wasn't going to be it’s just like Lorelai [Gilmore].
Lauren Graham in "Parenthood"
How do you compare the characters of Lorelai Gilmore to Sarah Braverman?
Graham: In so many ways, the experience of doing ["Parenthood"] is so totally different, the tone of the show is so different so I think the fact that the circumstances are similar, actually, they don't remind me of each other at all. This show ["Parenthood"] is less about verbal kind of dexterity and long speeches and it’s more small moments and real behavior. And people reacting to each in a moment. There’s a lot more silence.
It's Sarah really struggling in her life and not in a great place and hasn't reached her potential in a lot of ways. And the character I played in the past is sort of always winning in a way, and so this [Sarah Braverman character] is someone who has much further to go to reach any of her dreams — and that was all appealing to me.
Lauren, how did it feel coming into this ensemble cast and taking over for Maura Tierney?
Graham: Well, it felt really difficult in ways. I mean, 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 with me. And 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.
And that was the only way you could kind of deal with that situation. Actually, the chemistry between these people I can just honestly say — and not to be not to compare any of my other wonderful jobs — but this is a very, very special group of people and a really great feeling on the set and an actual functional and dysfunctional family of its own. And it was actually really easy, ultimately, to do this work. And so I feel lucky.
Lauren Graham at the "Parenthood" TV series premiere in Los Angeles
Do you relate more to Sarah or Lorelai?
Graham: Well, I can only say Sarah because that’s what’s on my plate right now. But I would say, I mean, this feels in a strange way, like kind of a natural next step, in terms of the world of "Gilmore Girls" [which] was really idyllic in a way and such a great place to live as an actor and a person for awhile. But this ["Parenthood" series] feels more grown-up in a lot of a ways. And so the possibilities … the range of what I get to do on this show, it’s more 10 o'clock than 8 o'clock. And that’s a great kind of next chapter to have, in terms of just feeling challenged and moving forward.
Ron and Jason, can you talk a little bit about the casting process?
Howard: I can speak and just say Jason just kept seeing amazing actors one after another [who would] agree to do Jason’s work. And so I was just smiling in the background.
Katims: It was an incredible experience casting the show because it first of all it’s a very, very big cast. It’s unusually large ensemble for a TV show. And so it was all about putting the pieces together and feeling like you want to find great people who connect with the roles. But it’s also 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 the complicated and challenging part of it is making sure not only were you getting wonderful people for the role — which is of course what you’re always doing — but I really wanted to feel, at the end of the day, that when you saw these people together, they felt like a family. That they reminded you of that there be dynamics and things that would remind you hopefully of your family and reminding you it felt familiar and real.
And so there was that. Then the other side of it is we got so much tremendous support. I think luckily, the network believed in the show so much that they really supported us in putting together this incredible cast. If you look at the people we were lucky enough to be able to work with: Lauren and Peter [Krause] and Craig [T. Nelson] and on and on and on, Bonnie Bedelia … I feel so excited and humbled by having this sort of embarrassment of riches ... And that wouldn't have happened had we not gotten the support from the network to say that 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.
Ron Howard and Jason Katims at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
Ron, how is working on the "Parenthood" TV series different from working on the "Parenthood" movie, other than the cast?
Howard: Well, I haven't had to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning one single time. And really I'm an exec producer along, with Brian Grazer and David Nevins, and I really am on that side of it. And, quite frankly, if somebody has a question I answer it, maybe once or twice I threw in an opinion from the distance, but this is Jason’s show. And I'm totally supportive of it. But he honestly doesn't need my help. It’s there should he ever. So it’s been a very different experience. But the other nice thing is I get to really enjoy those episodes. Well, I read scripts and I have an idea where the show is going. But it’s going so well that I'm just proud.
Ron, where do you think television is today? Are you excited by it?
Howard: Well I am excited about it. Look, 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, pound for pound, the best work in the world is going on in that medium.
Better than the movies?
Howard: Best creative opportunities. I think so, yeah on average hour by hour. You can take more risks right now in the current climate on television shows than you can in movies in some instances. I mean, filmmakers are always out there trying to find ways to be bold and to do things that explore things from new perspectives but they either don't really have the time or it’s hard in this climate to get the financing for something that feels like it’s really breaking the mold. Studios are more conservative than ever about the kind of choices that they want to make. And they have their sort of fiscal responsibilities to attend to. And I'm not I understand it. But I feel like there’s more experimentation going on in TV and that’s yielding some really great - some really great breakthroughs.
Members of the "Parenthood" team at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010.
Pictured from left to right: Ron Howard, Erika Christensen, Jason Katims, Monica Potter and Peter Krause.
Jason, do you have a of reaction or thoughts on the unofficial announcement that Season 5 of "Friday Night Lights" will be the show’s last season?
Katims: First of all I would say "unofficial." The show hasn't been canceled yet. I mean, look "Friday Night Lights" is a show that has been struggling to stay on the air from the second episode of the show. And we will do a minimum of five seasons. And the thing is truthfully, we just finished our fourth season of the run on DirecTV and are premiering our fourth season on NBC, which has not yet premiered it until April 30. And then we have an another year to go that we are just starting to break the stories on.
So to me I feel it’s early; it’s early yet. Of course, if next year winds up being the final season of the show then I will feel very, very lucky and grateful that we were able to do as many episodes of a show that is so dear to my heart. But as I said, there hasn't been any official decision about that yet. I mean, it’s weird that that would happen when literally we’re breaking stories for a new season that we haven't even started to shoot yet. I just don't want it to seem like the show is over. There was a period of time between the second season and the third season where we were cancelled the show was gone. And the show wound up coming back. So there’s nothing official yet.
Can you talk about what the process was like creating characters based on characters from the film but also with new characteristics?
Katims: The gift that I was given by Ron and Brian when I set out to do the show was complete freedom. Whatever I wanted to do … however I wanted to follow any of the characters or format of the movie or not was really completely left in my hands. And when I started to sit down to do the work, I felt that I kept gravitating back toward a significant amount of the structure of the movie. Because as I said earlier, I thought that it just was really … a wonderful movie, but in a weird way it was sort of the perfect model for a television show.
What I did was I let the movie go after I saw it a couple times. And I didn't watch it again while I wrote it at all because, honestly, some of the stuff that people say, "Oh, that happened in the movie and it's the same kind of thing is happening in the show" … I didn't want to become too enmeshed in the movie. I mean, I thought it was important that I be inspired by it but I not be bound by it. When I was first starting to do it, I went with some sort of radically different ideas and came back around to the structure of a lot of it.
In terms of the Sarah character … what I wanted to do was just to make sure that I was going to write a pilot that was not only going to be entertaining and hopefully moving as the [movie], but to write something that was going to be setting up 100 stories for all of these characters and not just one. And Lauren was talking about before about a character that hadn't reached her potential, to me, that’s an interesting character … You want to follow and you want to see her hopefully reach that potential. And to me, that’s the journey, that’s what you want to set up in a TV show. You want your characters to have not only the episode by episode journeys but you want to feel like they’re on a longer journey as well.
Erika Christensen and Lauren Graham in "Parenthood"
Graham: I didn't feel haunted by the movie. I just loved that movie and loved Dianne Wiest [who played Helen Buckman in the "Parenthood" movie] so much. And I would say it was way more frightening to play Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls" or something where people have ideas about what that character is based on previous performers. And the thing you really must do in television is bring yourself to everything you do. You can't try to be anybody else. So I loved how you could feel the movie kind of in it but it didn't feel like a copy in any way. So I feel like I could have watched the movie and still not been affected in a way in terms of what we’re doing. You really have to make it your own and kind of find your own way. But I do love Dianne Wiest so much.
Jason, two shows on your plate that are so wonderful it must be kind of like juggling two children. Do you play favorites or does it feel like that to you?
Graham: "Parenthood" is his favorite.
Katims: Yeah, I like to play one against the other. No, actually, that’s a good metaphor for what it’s like: It is like two children and therefore you can't play favorites … I love both shows so much and they’re both so personal to me. And when I first started doing it the very first day that I was in a writer’s room on both shows, it was awful. It was like literally I would run from one writer’s room to the other and saying literally, "I'll be right back, I'll see you in a little bit." And then come back two hours later feeling like I had just cheated on my wife. And then that was the first day and then honestly after that from the second day, I sort of went home, I took a breath and figured, "OK I have to figure out how to do this."
And from the second day on for me, it’s actually been a wonderful experience and surprisingly exhilarating. But having shows going on at once has helped each other. I don't know why, it’s given me somehow a little bit more perspective on things because you always get so entrenched in the show … It’s that fantasy like in junior high school where you have a paper to do in two separate classes and you try to figure out, "How do I write one paper?"
Graham: [She says jokingly] That’s so weird because Sarah has started playing football and I never understood why.
Katims: I know, I don't understand that … Obviously, the needs of both shows are different because "Friday Night Lights" is a show that’s been ongoing for so long. And "Parenthood" it requires a different types of what I need to be doing every day for it. But it’s been enjoyable, and I swear to you I don't love one more than the other.
Graham: Except for "Parenthood," which you love more.
"Parenthood" co-stars Sarah Ramos, Miles Heizer, Lauren Graham and Mae Whitman at the "Parenthood" Television Critics Association party in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
Jason, what do you think about the tough time slot for "Parenthood"? And what are your thoughts on the support that NBC has given you with "Friday Night Lights," in terms of the DirecTV deal.
Katims: The DirecTV deal. Well, I mean, I mean, that’s two separate questions really. In terms of "Friday Night Lights," the deal with DirecTV literally kept the show on the air. And so to me, it was just a wonderful experiment to be part of and one that I hope that if that business model starts to be used for other shows — to keep other shows that have a loyal fan base but not a big-enough audience to keep those shows on the air. If that continues to happen with DirecTV or other outlets that would make it even sweeter for me that "Friday Night Lights" was at the beginning of something, because there are so many shows that don't live as long as their creative lives should live because of just dollars.
In terms of "Parenthood," in terms of our time slot, I don't know what’s a good time slot and what isn't, other than to know every time you get a time slot and then you really start looking into it you’re thinking, "Wow, that ain't easy," because either you’re going to have a time slot where nobody’s really tuning in which isn't good or it is a good hour and you've got a lot of difficult competition. The one thing I would say is NBC is I think being extremely supportive of the show with their marketing and campaign and have really put a lot of thought into it.
And I think in trying to launch us in launching us after the Olympics where they know they’re going to have a lot of viewers … potentially people who watch the show. I think that’s going to be really helpful. And we have a really strong, lead-in which is always very helpful. And so I don't know what to expect, but I think they’re giving us every chance to succeed.
Jason, has the Taylor family in "Friday Night Lights" influenced why you decided to do "Parenthood"?
Katims: I think that one of the reasons why I want to do a show like "Parenthood" is my experience on "Friday Night Lights." But "Friday Night Lights," while it’s theoretically about football, to me isn't really about football; it’s a show about family. it’s about truly a family, like about a marriage, but then also in terms of all these surrogate relationships between fathers and sons and mothers and daughters, etcetera that are created on that show. The idea of telling intimate stories about family and family-type relationships is the thing that’s most compelling to me and most enjoyable to me about what I've done on "Friday Night Lights."
And so when it came time to start thinking about doing another show, I wanted to continue to do that and continue to talk about that and thought "Parenthood" provided a really great opportunity to do that. I think that the specifics of what you'll hopefully see in Parenthood is not exactly a marriage or whatever that would be precisely like what’s on "Friday Night Lights." But what you'll see hopefully are relationships between parents and their children and brothers and sisters that will all feel I hope very, relatable and specific. And in the way that I think people sort of connect to that relationship on "Friday Night Lights" and those types of relationships on "Friday Night Lights."
"Parenthood" co-stars Craig T. Nelson, Lauren Graham, Erika Christensen and Peter Krause at the "Parenthood" TV series premiere in Los Angeles
Ron and Jason, if "Parenthood" get off the ground as a sitcom 20 years ago, do you think it would have had the same impact or significance in a different climate? Like is it better that you guys got more life experience with family?
Howard: Well, I came to believe that the half-hour model actually wasn't correct for the show. And so it would have either had to become a much broader show with sort of quick hits and almost sketches on parenthood or it needed to be what Jason came to us to talk about which was something that would really allow the characters to grow and evolve. And worry less about framing up jokes and more about just reaching people in a way that resonated.
And in fact the movie was always intended as a comedy but the simple storylines were dramatic and even dark. And that was something that was impossible to work into the half hour without just taking over the episode and then suddenly it wasn't a comedy. And so it was the growth of the family was kind of struggling there in that format. So we put it away and never considered bringing it back until Jason talked to us about it. I thought it was really a smart idea, based on my previous experience with it.
Katims: The thing I was most excited about in doing this as a show was that we were going to be examining four very different families, even though they were connected by being siblings — five families if you include the grandparents. And to me, that was the thing that was most exciting about it was that you would get all these different perspectives on family. And I just don't think that in sheer amount of time there would be enough time in a half hour to examine four families … and keep that balance going.
You would have to start cutting it down and saying well, really have it focus mainly on one family and then maybe there’s a subplot with another family. But in order to really honor what the movie was and hopefully expand on that vision of what the movie, the hour format really is necessary.
Ron, just really quick, how did Andy Griffith, Marion Ross and Tom Bosley all contribute to your view of parenthood and family?
Howard: Well I had a pretty solid family situation. I was blessed with that. And so while I had nothing but admiration and love for Andy — and of course, he was an incredibly significant figure in my life — I never confused him as a father figure. But as a great sort of mentor, definitely.
And I think that the way that I try to work as a director and the kind of emphasis that I put on scenes and characters and that kind of problem solving was really led by Andy. And the sort of environment that we had on that show and the way that the problem-solving was approached and the work ethic that was involved in all that. And so he meant a great deal to me.
But in crunch time, trying to figure out what [my wife] Cheryl and I should do with one of our four kids, my thoughts would go to my own father and mother and Cheryl’s to hers. And I wouldn't be thinking about an episode of a TV show I did.
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