TVovereasy

Parenthood is back for its second season and continues to follow the Braverman family through their ups and downs and challenges and victories as they navigate parenting from a number of perspectives and life stages. The main players are:Sarah Braverman (played by Lauren Graham of the Gilmore Girls fame) is a financially-strapped single mom trying to raise two teenage kids a bright and rebellious daughter and a sensitive and introspective son.Zeek and Camille play Sarah’s parents (with whom she and her children live) who are passing through their own life stages and marital issues such as infidelity and feelings of invisibility compounded by the fact that their daughter Sarah (see above) has moved back in with them as she struggles to find her place in the world.Julia is Sarah’s sister and is the complete antithesis as she plays the role of a successful lawyer who struggles with the balance of corporate life and mother/wife-hood. She is mother to a precociously smart daughter who is parented predominately by Julia’s stay-at-home husband.Brother Crosby is a commitment-phobe free spirit who is helping to raise his five-year-old son who was born out of wedlock to his former love interest (and which fires are now being rekindled).And oldest brother Adam (played by Peter Krause from Six Feet Under fame) is a sibling who is in a state of redefinition as he deals with his quietly demanding wife, independent daughter, and son Max who has Asperger’s Syndrome.Each family member has their own set of challenges based on their lot in life (whether self-dictated or not), and the blending of plot lines and personality types serve as a true testament to what “family” truly has become in today’s ever-changing family home.And even though a lot of the topics can punch you to the core, the show has a way of making you happy in its own unique way. Sound familiar?