Page 4 - Football.2018

4 October 14 - 20, 2018 cover story
By Francis Babin
TV Media
The new prime-time television sea- son is finally here and, as usual,
it features plenty of returning hits, fresh takes on old favorites, ambi- tious dramas and a healthy dose of period pieces. On Tuesday, Oct. 16, take a trip through time and make yourself at home with the Cleary family as they witness the dawn of a new era in the premiere of “The Kids Are Alright” on ABC.
With the addition of the 1970s-set “The Kids Are Alright” to the lineup, ABC has doubled down on single- camera, ensemble-cast period com- edies. “Kids” marks the network’s third past-set series (with a fourth, the ‘90s-set “Schooled,” on its way) after “The Goldbergs” (1980s) and “Fresh off the Boat” (1990s).
It’s hard to blame the alphabet network for wanting to take another trip down memory lane. As a society, we’re constantly looking to the past, be it for inspiration, for escapism
or in order to better understand the present. Plus, the fashion, music
and tech of days gone by are always sources of entertainment and inter- est. This fascination with the past has led Hollywood to be dominated by nostalgia, with both the big screen
Home sweet home
Take a trip through time with ‘The Kids Are Alright’
El Dorado News-Times
there’s also a really caring side to him. He really tries to reach in and connect with his kids,” the actor said. Like the relationships between the brothers, papa Cleary’s soft side will be explored throughout the series.
Along with ignored middle child Timmy and the recently returned Lawrence, the Cleary brood in- cludes Eddie (Caleb Martin Foote, “American Horror Story”), Frank (Sawyer Barth, “Public Morals”), Joey (Christopher Paul Richards, “Me, Myself and I”), William (Andy Walken,“AChristmasStoryLive!“) and Pat (Santino Barnard, “Grey’s Anatomy”).
ABC has always excelled at family comedies, from “Full House” and
“Home Improvement” to “Mod- ern Family” and “Black-ish,” and “The Kids Are Alright”
looks to continue this streak. With 10 people,
three bedrooms and one bathroom, the Cleary
household is not for the weak.Tuneintothe premiere of the new sitcom, airing Tuesday Oct. 16, on ABC, to wit-
ness the amusing chaos.
Mary McCormack stars in “The Kids Are Alright”
and the small churning out period piece after period piece.
ABC struck gold with “The Gold- bergs” and “Fresh off the Boat,” and much like these comedies, “The Kids Are Alright” is based on the child- hood of its creator. “Kids” follows the ups and downs of Mike (Michael Cudlitz, “The Walking Dead”) and Peggy Cleary (Mary McCormack, “In Plain Sight”) and their eight wild boys in 1970s suburban Los Angeles.
Creator/writer/executive producer Tim Doyle (“Last Man Standing”) grew up in a large, traditional Irish Catholic family. After regaling ABC executives with hilarious tales of
his youth, Doyle was given the op- portunity to present these stories to the masses. At New York’s annual PaleyFest, he talked at length about wanting to properly document the era and to “show audiences a believ- able depiction of family life during that period.”
Beyond Doyle’s writing and pro- ducing duties, he also narrates in voiceover as an older Timmy, the fifth of eight children and completely ig- nored. The younger version of Timmy is played by the wonderful up-and- comer Jack Gore (“Billions”).
Growing up in the 1970s has pro- vided Doyle with wonderful stories, but the decade wasn’t all roses. It
was a turbulent time in America, and it’s the perfect setting for a family comedy. As Bob Dylan famously said, “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” and after this decade, the Clearys — and the country — will never be the same.
Doyle discussed this earlier this year at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas, saying, “They’re trying to hold on to the values in this house, and the outside world keeps coming in.”
Raising boys is no picnic. Raising eight boys in a working-class neigh- borhood is a monumental challenge. With Mike and Peggy often working long hours and doing everything
in their power to provide for an immense family, the gaggle of ram- bunctious boys are often left to their own devices and spend their days with little supervision.
The series will continuously explore the relationship between siblings at home and focus on the dynamic between the brothers and between kids and parents. We’ll fol- low various groupings of the boys
as they strike out on adventures together or have heated exchanges with their mother. Many of these exchanges and arguments take place during chaotic family dinners, which are described as the glue of the en- semble comedy.
It’s during one of these dinner scenes that the household is turned
upside down and things get compli- cated for the family. After returning home, the eldest Cleary boy, Law- rence (Sam Straley, “Chicago P.D.”), announces that he has decided to quit the seminary and embark on a quest to save the world. Naturally, this noble mission isn’t well received.
In an interview with Variety, se- ries star Cudlitz explained that the Cleary patriarch isn’t one dimen- sional or a stereotype. He’s not just a grumpy dad — even if it would be completely believable and under- standable if that was the case, with eight boys running amok. “There is a certain gruffness to him [...] but
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