This show is, for me, a mixed bag. Positives: all the main characters seem different and clearly defined as personalities. They are interesting characters. Some of the typical and important experiences of being a child, sibling, and parent are covered. And the people portrayed are likable, overall (despite the flaws in their portrayal, see below).The acting is fairly good, but with the writing and directing flaws, it is hard for the adult actors to be truly adult. The writing for the under-20 characters seems excellent, but the parents and grandparents often sounds like clichés of who they are supposed to be. Negatives: I feel sick every time two characters in the show see each other and say "Hey!" and reply: "Hey!" Who talks like this? One is eating breakfast, the other comes from sleeping to the kitchen and they say "Hey!" to each other. This is NOT believable dialogue, and is so persistent and consistent among (nearly?) all the characters that I find it very disturbing. There is also too much rapid-fire talk and not enough slow, paced dialogue. None of the adults I know speak like these people do, on a consistent basis. Sure, once in a while we toss off conversation, but mostly, we put more of ourselves in our words.Despite earnest attempts to touch on the serious issues of parenting and living, much of the show is handled in too lightweight a manner. Human beings have some profound challenges in getting through life. This show definitely touches on some of them as topics, but turns most of them into a clichéd version. I have watched only two of the six seasons, so maybe things change a lot later in the series (unlikely but possible). My favorite scene so far in terms of REAL feeling was when Adam told Zeek about how he is angry all the time. In that scene, the writing and acting and the two characters overall made total sense and had MEANING. This is the underlying intensity of being a person on this earth. Not everything in life is anger, or love, or worry, and so on... but they are the pieces that drive forward the rest of our lives for better and for worse. That intensity is what makes life full and rich, and in a show like this, it should be more visible.Summary: The show touches on important topics, and the characters themselves are enjoyable, but it is too superficial most of the time. The writing, with the fast-talking and the "Hey!" overuse, distracts from what could have been a more moving and involving version of the same story lines. Perhaps there will be a season seven, and the writers will have time to "fix" the flaws and make this a truly great show.

All the screaming and yelling! Continually talking over one another! So exasperating! The only reason I would occasionally watch is to see Craig nelson and the wife. The rest is a mess!! Each family either whining or screaming and yelling or all three! Just TOO MUCH craziness! It's not even drama. And then that annoying theme song! Oh dear Lord! Thank goodness I finally have a DVR and can roll right through it. It had nothing to do with the "storyline" or was there even a storyline. The overdramatizing of Max character---you just want to reach in and ring his neck. And Ray Romano comes on the show and that's when I quit watching after a couple shows. His character is always the SAME. Only now, more annoying. And the dumb sister that he started the relationship with--they actually might match up well, as they are both equally annoying! All I can say is AMEN!!!

This is a wonderful, realistic TV drama about a big family living in the San Francisco bay area.It features a large cast of characters that spans 3 generations who actually love and care about one another. Casting is excellent.To heighten dramatic impact, every human joy and problem is experienced by someone in the group - dating, marriage, teenage angst, job problems, health problems, infidelity, Aspergers syndrome, business problems, PTSD and on and on. Each issue is dealt with in a credible and sensitive way. The dialog and acting work and the series has been informative and entertaining. There's also humor and lots of good will.Once you get into the series, you really wind up caring about the characters - even if you don't share their religion or politics - which are implied but usually not overtly expressed.PARENTHOOD is good quality television that thankfully NBC has kept on and allowed to conclude with dignity - unlike the abrupt boot the network gave to a similar family-themed show American DREAMS which aired in the early 2000s.In all, PARENTHOOD will include 103 episodes that have run from March 2010 to January 2015.---- Unfortunately, the PARENTHOOD writers chose to kill off the family patriarch Zeke in the final episode. What a completely unnecessary downer. WONDER YEARS killed the father off in the last episode as well. I like happy endings and this left a bitter taste for both series.

I never knew about this show for a long time, but when I did I was hooked and had to go back to season 1 to watch it. I am sad you are taking away a great TV show that teaches good values for family and life, which I see as only getting replaced by some dumb reality show b/c we don't have enough of them. I hope another show of this caliber comes back on in the near future. I don't watch much TV, but this show was always one of my go to shows. I loved all the characters and their different personalities and how they found a way to solve problems you see everyday. Thank you for the entertainment and hope to see more family shows in the future like it was in the 90's when I was growing up.