Why I Love Parenthood

While I do love being a parent, what I’m actually talking about is the NBC TV show on Tuesday nights.

I remember when I saw the first preview for Parenthood last year. I was still watching The Biggest Loser then and the fact that the one hour drama began when TBL ended worked in my favor. A couple of other things worked in my favor then, too. It was PM (pre-Mylo) and I was pregnant with little else going on in my life. I had oodles and oodles of time to watch obese people work out and get hooked on a one hour family drama.

The first reason why I love Parenthood: Peter Krause. He’s Hollywood’s second most underserved actor. (The first one is Michael Keaton.)

Peter Krause as Adam Braverman on NBC's Parenthood.

Although Peter is handsome, it has nothing to do with that. He plays his characters with a kind of purpose and effectiveness that makes it feel like he’s right next to me in my living room. I felt that way about him in his most notable role as Nate Fisher in Six Feet Under and now again, as Adam Braverman in Parenthood.

The second reason why I love this family drama is just that. It’s family drama. The Braverman’s are volatile yet loving.  The fact that someone is always yelling at someone else in the show speaks to me. It’s how my family was and still is, so I suppose that I find comfort in this kind of messy menage.

The third reason why I love Parenthood is they show men cry. Think about it, other than The Bachelor, The Biggest Loser and other reality shows, when do you see men cry on TV?

The fourth reason why I love Parenthood is because they’ve broached vegetarianism in the latest episode of this wonderful show. And they did so beautifully.

Sydney, the daughter of one of the Braverman daughters decided to go veg in last night’s episode. With the number of U.S. adult vegetarians at 7.3 million, or 3.2 percent of the population as reported by the Vegetarian Times Magazine in 2008, it’s any wonder why more shows don’t incorporate this healthy, ethical and emerging way of life.

I’ve always been a big fan of animal welfare issues that are positively portrayed in mainstream media. So the fact that Parenthood had 5.5 million viewers on February 22nd – and that’s NOT including DVRs – had terrific potential to effect the public.

And finally, the fifth reason why I love Parenthood is because it was one of our motivating forces behind getting TiVo. After recently becoming a mom, I no longer have the luxury of watching TV late at night or watching my shows uninterrupted. While The Biggest Loser got the cut, the Braverman’s are here to stay!

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Do you watch Parenthood? Do you love it like I do – why or why not?