Parenthood - Season 4 Premiere

Parenthood -  starring Craig T Nelson, Lauren Graham, Peter Krause, Monica Potter and Erika Christensen. Not to mention Dax Shepard and Mae Whitman. 

Premise:
Parenthood is a one-hour drama inspired by the box office hit of the same name. This re-imagined and updated Universal Media Studios/Imagine Television production follows the trials and tribulations of the very large, very colourful and imperfect Braverman family.

Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham, "Gilmore Girls") is a financially strapped single mother trying to raise two teenaged kids, the bright but rebellious Amber (Mae Whitman, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"), and sullen and sensitive Drew (Miles Heizer, "ER").

On the home front, Sarah and her kids live with Sarah's larger-than-life, headstrong father, Zeek (Craig T. Nelson, "Family Stone," "Coach"), and pillar-of-strength mother Camille (Bonnie Bedelia, "Heart Like a Wheel"), who are dealing with their own marital issues.

Meanwhile, Sarah's sister and complete antithesis, Julia (Erika Christensen, "Traffic") is a successful corporate attorney trying to juggle work and motherhood, alongside her loving but increasingly restless stay-at-home husband, Joel (Sam Jaeger, "Eli Stone").

Commitment-phobe Crosby (Dax Shepard, "Baby Mama"), Sarah's younger brother, is helping raise a five-year-old son he had out of wedlock with former flame Jasmine (Joy Bryant "Antwone Fisher").
However, it's Adam (Peter Krause, "Six Feet Under"), the oldest Braverman sibling, who has had to relinquish his expectations about what constitutes a "normal" family, as he, his quietly forceful wife Kristina (Monica Potter, "Trust Me") and independent-minded teenage daughter Haddie (Sarah Ramos, "American Dreams"), struggle to cope with their eccentric son and Haddie's little brother Max (Max Burkholder, "Brother and Sisters"), who has Asperger's Syndrome.

Serving as executive producers are Oscar winners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer ("A Beautiful Mind," "Frost/Nixon"); Jason Katims ("Friday Night Lights"), who wrote the pilot episode; and David Nevins ("Friday Night Lights," "Arrested Development").

First impression: This is a realistic family drama. Parenthood allows you to soar with them on their victories and cry with them when they suffer losses. This is a show that doesn't rely on special effects, super heroes or vampires but on pure talent of the actors and beautifully scripted episodes.
In season four we pick up where we left off after an adoption, a proposal and a wedding.

Cast: Episode 1 finds Ray Romano joining the cast and I found him fitting in nicely!  With such a large line-up of experienced actors this show never runs out of storylines due to the infinite amount of possibilities as each character is equally compelling.  From the grandfather's (Nelson) health problems to Amber's (Whitman) one night stands and heartbreaks ...we empathise.

Overall Feel: This show is warm, real and amazing. It appeals to you no matter what stage of life you are in.  Everyone can relate to this show.  Refreshingly there is nothing offensive, violent or naked in  and I love that they are going into their 4th season being successful with a clean and responsible show.

Prediction: I can see this running for at least 10 seasons...

Rating (1=low, 10=high): I give this a 8 out of 10.