The Fosters, ABC Family’s two-mom, many kid drama, begins its second season tonight, and I can hardly wait. Here are some of the thoughts I had on the first season and what it means for us real LGBTQ families — as well as a sneak peek of tonight’s scene in which Jude gets his birth certificate.
In “The Fosters: It’s About the Children,” I offered my initial thoughts after the first episode. What makes The Fosters stand out from other shows that have featured same-sex parents, I wrote, is that it focuses as much on the children and their perspectives as on the parents. Judging from the diverse range of ages (from teens on up) that frequent the show’s Twitter hashtag (#TheFosters), the writers and producers have found a winning formula there.
In the pilot episode, though, mom Stef insists, “We are not the Brady Bunch.” But are they? (Clearly, I wasn’t the only one pondering this, as the folks at AfterEllen have been rocking Twitter with the #gaydybunch hashtag during the show.)
The drama may at times seem too thick, and the teen angst too angsty — but despite that, the show has, perhaps better than any other, captured some of what it is like to be in a real family with two moms. It means something significant to us and our kids to see that kind of representation week after week.
Please join me (and thousands of others) tonight at 9 p.m. ET to watch the show and tweet along using #TheFosters and #gaydybunch. If you want to read about some real LGBTQ families in the meantime, check out the posts from this year’s Blogging for LGBTQ Families Day.
And if you want your appetite whetted even more, here’s a look at the scene when Jude gets his birth certificate, Lena has pregnancy cravings, and the family proves that breakfast is the most important meal of the day in the Foster-Adams household.