We had the pleasure of talking with Ron Howard (executive producer), Jason Katims (executive producer), and Lauren Graham (series actress) from Parenthood about the development of the TV show from the Parenthood movie, the issues the show wants to tackle, and how their views on parenthood influenced the show.

I wanted to ask both you guys, I was really impressed with how much you got the pilot film to be kind of lighter and more fun in the second try. And how’s that gone on since then in the future episodes? Are you getting more comedy into the episodes as it goes? And there’s a lot of serious things you’re playing with too, so how’s it going so far?

Jason Katims: I think that we have tried to. Anytime you start a show you’re sort of trying to find that balance and figure out and sort of discover the tone of the show and what the show wants to be.
And one of the things that I'm so excited about what I've seen as you were saying the second version of the pilot and then as we've gone into episodes is we've found more and more humor. But it’s really the humor of life, you know, it’s the humor that you find when you're dealing with Parenthood and family and being both your kids but also in the context of being a son or a daughter as well.

And what I like about the humor that we’re finding it just feels very relatable and real; it doesn't feel like - to me it doesn't feel like it’s too broad or trying to - or going into a place that is in any way sort of not really relatable.

And I wanted to ask Ron, in retrospect I think Parenthood is often very funny. We don't realize it sometimes at the time but we laugh about it afterwards. You've done a lot of Parenthood in your life; overall is there a lot of room for humor in it?

Ron Howard: Well it’s unavoidable. You know, like Jason was just saying, I mean, it might not feel funny in the moment, you’re right, but gratefully more often than not there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and you can personally look back and find the humor in it. Others can always see how ridiculous other people’s lives are.

They might not tell them right to their face, but they could see it. And it’s that - it is that sort of elevator ride that I think makes stories on the subject of parenting and being a part of a family so relatable and so entertaining. And I've loved what Jason has been doing with the sort of the family that we started 20 years ago. Ever since our first conversation and from the first script onward, [he] just has such a fantastic contemporary take on the whole thing that I've been nothing but proud of it.