Why ‘Parenthood’ Was the Best Show on TV

by Ericka Andersen,

Tonight, the series finale of one of my favorite shows of all time — “Parenthood” — airs.

It’s a show that has touched my heart and proved that Americans still have an affinity for family values, morality and doing the right thing even when it’s hard.

You won’t see many shows or movies these days that tackle the realities of family life in the gritty, authentic way that “Parenthood” does. For the past six seasons, the Braverman family of “Parenthood” has faced a variety of hardships that require compromise, forgiveness and unconditional love.

The way the show has elevated family — and all the chaos that comes with it — is a refreshing rarity in today’s line up of superficial sitcoms and reality TV.

These days, you won’t see onscreen parents reconciling, despite vehement disagreements, because they respect one another enough for one of them to give up being right. You won’t see marriages being put back together — or fathers committing to the mother of the child they didn’t know they had for years.

You won’t see principled fathers handling their children’s issues with rationality and maturity in the face of chaos. You won’t see two parents working together to find a genuinely good solution for their disabled child — even when that solution isn’t perfect or ideal.

You won’t see a marriage on the edge of crumbling, saved on the brink, even though it’s hard, even though it hurts — because the spouses realize their children deserve better, their vows deserve more.

I started watching “Parenthood” at the suggestion of my grandma, a strong Christian woman who wasn’t much into TV drama. She liked to watch reruns of “Little House on the Prairie” and listen to Kenneth Copeland sermons on TV. My grandma died in October and I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk anymore about our favorite show, that she missed the ending of a family she too had come to love.

But when I watch the “Parenthood” finale tonight, I will think of her and how she’s showed me that family is the most precious thing, that marriages are worth fighting for, that every person is fighting a hard battle (we must remember!) and that someday, parenthood will be the best thing that ever happens to me.

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