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Did Parenthood Make the Right Decision to Come Back for Season 6?

Written by Ian Thomas Malone, Posted in Blog, Pop Culture

You may remember that Parenthood was the subject of my first pop culture article here on this website. I argued that the season five finale provided enough closure to avoid a sixth season entirely. Season five was a roller coaster of ups and downs, though mostly downs, with uneven storylines that seemed to lack direction. Given that this was once one of the best shows on network TV, I wanted to see it go out with a bang rather than a whimper.

NBC thought otherwise and renewed the show for a sixth season, cutting both the episode order and the actors’ salaries in the process. Now, it’s important to note that uneven episode counts have been with Parenthood since the beginning. No show in network television history has had a seasonal episode breakdown of 13, 22, 18, 15, 22, and 13, a feat more impressive when you consider that Parenthood didn’t air during Writer’s Strike.

Keeping this in mind, it makes some sense that Parenthood has struggled with inconsistent plotlines. It’s hard to get into a proper groove when your episode order is constantly switching (hiatuses also exacerbate this problem). Max certainly wouldn’t appreciate this.

To season six’s credit, it doesn’t really tarnish the show’s legacy at all. It also hasn’t been very good. Surprised? No.

The real problem was that the show wasn’t particularly committed to either wrapping everything up or making new storylines. We saw continuations with the Julia/Joel marital problems and Sarah/Hank will they won’t they. Neither one was particularly necessary.

Then there was the disaster of Chambers Academy, which could be seen from a mile away. Christina has slowly degenerated into the show’s worst character. She does nothing for full episodes at a time and then when she gets a storyline, it’s something way over the top which is never mentioned again once the next absurd thing comes into play.

Parenthood also decided that it might be a good idea to feature some of Hank’s extended family in what is being marketed as the show’s “farewell season.” This is obviously done because of budget cuts, but it also shows why coming back under these conditions was a terrible idea in the first place. Hank has been a godsend to the show since his introduction, but we didn’t need to see his ex-wife.

Other characters like Jasmine, have been reduced to mere cameos. The show also decided to rehash the “sell the Luncheonette” storyline for whatever reason. To save even more money, they might have just taken the old footage from season three and used it again. The real mistake with this plotline is that it kept Adam away from more interesting storylines.

Zeek’s health storyline is kind of unnecessary, but not too surprising. What else was he going to do? Camille fits under the Jasmine mold of “I’m here and that’s about it.” If Zeek dies, well then the show’s over anyway. Not much else to say.

In Parenthood’s prime, it was easily one of the best dramas on network TV, probably in all of TV. At its worst, it was frustrating. Seasons five and six have been pretty rough, which can lead one to rethink its overall legacy.

The truth is, network TV hasn’t had a ton of great dramas over the past few years, which means that Parenthood’s legacy won’t be terrible affected. It’s not better than Hannibal, The Good Wife, or Scandal, but it’s certainly better than much of it. Even at its worst.

Shows age. They usually get bad when they do. Parenthood did. But this was to be expected to a certain extent. With that in mind, season six doesn’t change much.

Was I wrong? Not really. The damage was just done already.

Parenthood is Better Off Not Coming Back for Season 6

Parenthood has been one of NBC’s best shows for the past five years. The family drama based off the 1989 film of the same name starring Steve Martin, Keanu Reeves, and the guy from Honey I Shrunk The Kids has had its fair share of ups and downs quality wise, but more often than not it’s an enjoyable forty two minutes with one of TV’s better casts. This season was its first twenty-two episode order since season two, a very unusual scenario for a network show. Unfortunately, that led to more than a few problems.

There’s a reason cable shows almost always air shorter seasons than broadcast. It’s far easier to plot a thirteen-episode order for a semi-serialized show than a twenty-two episode one. Parenthood benefitted from fewer episodes as the writers could figure out what they wanted to do with the show’s large cast. In theory, more episodes should’ve been a good thing as the show could’ve explored many of its more underutilized characters. Instead it spun its wheels for the most part until last week’s finale.

There was a huge imbalance in character storylines. Amber and Sarah did little other than explore tired romance plots from season four while Crosby’s major plot point centered on mold. Despite being on the sidelines for the majority of the season, Kristina managed to find time to run for mayor and open up a charter school. Realism and TV are not exactly a match made in heaven, but Parenthood’s simplistic concept should’ve lead to plots that were either somewhat more believable, or a least a little more developed. The mold and the mayor race received around the same amount of attention, showing us all where this show’s priorities lie.

There were a few shining moments, mostly belonging to the team up of Hank and Max, the show’s two best characters. Given Julia and Joel’s status as lesser character in the grand scheme of the Braverman hierarchy, their marital struggles were handled admirably, if not a bit drawn out. I have similar feelings about the Zeek/Camille house feud, which would’ve benefitted greatly from an expedited resolution.

Despite the mess of a season, the finale was well executed, aided by Haddie’s return to the fold. It even felt like a finale. Which is why if it turns out to be the finale, everyone should be okay with that.

As of April 26^th, Parenthood has not been renewed for a sixth season. We can reasonably expect a decision from NBC in the next few weeks as they prepare for upfronts. There’s been plenty of talk on the internet about a shortened sixth and final season, understandable given the typical shortened seasons that the show has aired in the past.

But I say no, let this season’s finale be the finale. Series finales are incredibly difficult to pull off. Any show that can avoid polarizing finales like Lost, The Sopranos, Battlestar Galatica, and more recently Dexter should take the opportunity. It’s hard to really say that Parenthood would be better off with thirteen more episodes after such a satisfying finale.

The fact that the NBC bumpers were advertising the Parenthood “finale,” rather than “season finale” leads me to think that this is it for the Braverman’s. I’m okay with that. I’d welcome a Hank/Max spinoff, but I don’t need to see any more Drew college melodrama or a Kristina subplot where she runs for President after the show makes a time jump to 2016. Some shows run out of steam and its better to end on a high note than to come back on borrowed time for some more filler that won’t benefit the show in any way.