When Parenthood was renewed for its third season this past May, I have to admit that I breathed a little sigh of relief. It was never in any true danger, as it was always one of the highest rated dramas on the network this season, but there's always that little ping of doubt that enters your mind when one of "your shows" hasn't gotten an early renewal. With about two months left until the season kicks off, spoilers have started trickling in very slowly, but the information has been adding up as to what we can expect when Team Braverman reconvenes in September.
One of the major plots of the last half of season 2 was the progress that Max was making with his disorder, as the time he spent with Gaby seemed to be paying off in his school work and subsequent behavior. We left Max as his parents had decided that it was time for him to go to an integrated public school, despite Kristina's anxieties, and it looks like said anxieties haven't cooled off. According to TV Guide, Kristina is supposed to go through some separation anxiety when Max starts the next phase of his young life, but his teacher nips it in the bud with a little extra kindness for both Max and Kristina.
When the first round of spoilers came out for this season of Parenthood, a major concern I had was the lack of information on the more peripheral members of the family, particularly Drew, whose non-presence during most of the season was quite frustrating. Fortunately, he's getting a plot, according to Entertainment Weekly, and it sounds like it should be something pretty darn touching. Apparently our young Drew is getting a love interest named April that he'll be meeting at a family garage sale. If that's not a cute enough story, Zeke'll be around to help advise Drew in the ways of love now that Seth is out of his life once again.
Sarah's love life has been a focus of the show for its first two seasons, as she's been trying to reconcile dating with a budding career and two growing children that may not be as receptive to new men in her life. At the end of last season, she met Jack Kraft (Steven Weber), an artistic director at the local theater that housed the first reading of Sarah's play. With the news that he would be continuing to make his presence felt in Sarah's life next season, you had to wonder about Mr. Cyr (Jason Ritter), Amber's former English teacher and the first man in the series to really make Sarah's heart go pitter-patter. Thankfully, Ritter will be returning to the show for multiple episodes, starting with the September 14th season premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
I'm a little more reassured now that the picture of what will be Parenthood's third season is becoming clearer. Sarah and Mr. Cyr have crazy amounts of chemistry and it'll be good to see them bounce off each other again, but considering Ritter's announced deal with Jason Katims to produce a new show, I have my doubts as to whether they'll last or not. Any plot putting Drew in the forefront is a winner for me, as we haven't really gotten to know Sarah's son that much (minus the episodes with John Corbett), and to allow for some bonding time with Zeke is just an added bonus; you'll see more of who Drew really is, Zeke will get softened a bit, and his potential relationship with April may cause a little ripple with Sarah. It looks like Kristina will be a big bag of emotion next season, between the family's financial state, her third pregnancy, and Max's new situation, so I'm happy there'll be the relief of having him be in the hands of a good teacher; I'm just curious how this will affect her relationship with Adam, as well as her own self worth. (Kristina has spent Max's whole life tending to him and now that he may not need her as much anymore, what will she do?)
Parenthood returns for its third season September 14th at 10:00 on NBC.
Which is your favorite future storyline on Parenthood? Do you think Jason Ritter'll stick around this time? Who do you want to see get a major plot next season?
