Here I am, sitting on my couch, starting Council of Dads from the beginning and wondering why it is that I am torturing myself. It’s like why am I watching a show that I know is cancelled and that I know I will never have any resolution to?
So here I sit, on my couch and I am ready to get on my soapbox about why I am pissed that I am not going to get that resolution. I am sitting here ready to scream about how stupid Hollywood is with their decisions.
I know that I am an asshole as I sit here and judge some old person in an office, worried about a bottom line over what the world needs. And yes, I will tell you that the world needs shows like Council of Dads.
Now, Hollywood is a business. Entertainment is a business. I know that. I work in it and have seen way more “bottom lines” than I ever wanted to. I have experienced the ups and downs of this business, seen way more than my eyes ever wanted to see, and have become completely jaded to a lot of it.
Council of Dads highlighted what it means to be a family – that it’s not all by blood, but sometimes by choice. It was a chance to show the complexity of family.
But what irritates me is that it feels like Hollywood has become jaded to good television and instead is willing to settle for whatever bullshit they can find that will make money. They don’t give anything time to find its home and audience anymore, which is why people don’t waste their time becoming invested in anything.
Inevitably, it will be taken away. Inevitably, if it doesn’t garner the attention that shows like This Is Us did out of the gate, it is gone.
And that’s just plain wrong.
We’ve become a society that wants quick entertainment, just like fast fashion. And where has that gotten us? NO WHERE.
Council of Dads deserved a chance that it wasn’t given. Here’s why.
A CAST THAT TOOK CENTER STAGE
Family isn’t always a bunch of people from the same DNA standing there looking like carbon copies of each other. Council of Dads made sure that we could all see the beauty and complexity in what makes a family.
All too often, we are shown families that are born from thee same parents, same skin colors, same sexualities. Television is now only starting to include members of the LQBTQ community and has a ton of growth to do on that front.
But Council of Dads embraced everything about everyone. Their race, sexuality, and where they came from. They didn’t make that the forefront of the story, the characters were defined by their beliefs, their connections, and their love for each other.
They were not defined by their DNA.
I loved that about the show. I knew that every child on that show was unique, but I didn’t consider it. It’s special how they made this family work – through beautiful writing and actors that were strong enough to play the roles.
You don’t find that everywhere. You’re lucky if you find it at all.
UNIQUE STORY
All to often when someone dies in movies, we don’t see the grief outside of the immediate family and in Council of Dads we’re able to see grief on a multi dimensional level.
If you aren’t familiar with Council of Dads –
The Perry family grows in unexpected ways after a life-changing event, as oldest daughter Luly and her four siblings — Theo, Charlotte, JJ and newborn Hope — adjust to the addition of three new “dads” who agree to help guide and support them and their mother, Robin, through all the challenges and triumphs life has to offer as a promise to their father. These men — Anthony, Larry and Oliver — soon find redemption and purpose in their new roles as backup dads, discovering that they need the Perry family as much as the Perry family needs them.
The story was beautiful. It made you think about the people that influence you and change you. It made you think about the people that shape you beyond your parents.
Family is shaped by the people that we allow to be in our lives and the people that grow to become our family. The people that we allow in need us as much as we need them.
EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
The writers on this show excelled, because there was not a person on this show that you didn’t find yourself emotionally invested in. You knew that none of them were perfect. Hell you knew that every character on this show had things they did right and things wrong. But you knew that they were learning at every stage.
You grew to love the characters because they were growing. They felt human. They were a part of the fabric of what you could learn about life and how not to take it for granted.
And that was one of the most beautiful things about the show. The diversity and the characters that felt like your friends. The characters that you rooted for. The characters that you couldn’t give up and that you knew wouldn’t give up on you.
Nothing was tied up in a pretty bow. Things were hard. But they did it – they got through it. And if they didn’t, you knew watching the show that you would figure out a way to get them through.
THE POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH
Council of Dads hadn’t found its footing – I will admit that. But it was not given all the time and chances in the world to find that footing. It was a show that barely got any promotion. It didn’t seem as though the network cared about it at all.
If it had been given time, marketing that focused more on its diversity and overall story, and a better time slot – it would have worked.
We need to reintroduce the world to contemporary stories. We need to work on stories rooted in reality. We need to give people a chance to shine.
This show was deserving of the world and that was overlooked from every angle.
Council of Dads deserved more. NBC failed it.
