January 27, 2006







ABC TO PREMIERE “SONS & DAUGHTERS” ON TUESDAY, MARCH 7







ABC’s new comedy “Sons & Daughters” will air back-to-back episodes Tuesdays at 9:00 and 9:30 p.m., ET, beginning March 7, it was announced today by the Network.



“I love this show. Nick and Fred have created a provocative, hilarious, emotional, real look at that dysfunctional joyride we know and love called family,” said Stephen McPherson, president, ABC Entertainment.



Editors please note: “Commander In Chief” will go on a brief broadcast hiatus so that it can return in the spring with all original episodes.



Fred Goss (“Significant Others”) stars in “Sons & Daughters,” a unique hybrid comedy series that offers a mix of improvisational and scripted humor in an unadulterated look at marriage, raising children and living in close proximity to an extended family. Series creators Goss and Nick Holly borrow from their own middle-American, middle-class upbringings to deliver a very real and relatable modern-day family comedy.



At the center of the family dynamic is Cameron (Goss), happily married to his second wife, Liz (Gillian Vigman, “Mad TV”), and the father of three children with her. One of the speed bumps on their road to domestic bliss comes from Cameron’s resentful teenaged son from his first marriage, who recently moved in and is not adjusting well to life with his father and new step-family.



Cameron’s life is further complicated by his sister, Sharon (Alison Quinn), and her husband, Don (Jerry Lambert), seemingly happily married with two teenaged children -- yet both in deep denial on several issues, including a current years-long sex drought.



Cameron and Sharon’s very pretty younger stepsister, Jenna (Amanda Walsh) -- the “it girl” when she was in high school -- had her career plans derailed by becoming a single mom. She continues to be attracted to “bad” boys like Tommy White, AKA Whitey (Greg Pitts), and not to the nice guys -- like Wylie (Desmond Harrington) -- who are attracted to her.



The three siblings’ parents, Colleen (Dee Wallace) and Wendal (Max Gail), are extremely devoted to their adult children and their grandchildren but, not surprisingly, have some issues of their own. Colleen, a little uptight and impulsively judgmental, both likes and dislikes the safe and comfortable environment that husband Wendal has provided for 25 years. A good guy, Wendal juggles and struggles with the varied relationships he has with his extended family members.



“Sons & Daughters” stars Fred Goss as Cameron Walker, Gillian Vigman as Liz Walker, Jerry Lambert as Don Fenton, Alison Quinn as Sharon Fenton, Max Gail as Wendal Halbert, Dee Wallace as Colleen Halbert, Amanda Walsh as Jenna Halbert, Desmond Harrington as Wylie Blake, Greg Pitts as Tommy White, Eden Sher as Carrie Fenton, Randy Wayne as Jeff Fenton, Trevor Einhorn as Henry Walker, Lois Hall as Aunt Rae, Noah Matthews as Ezra Walker and Lexi Jourden as Marni Walker.



Executive producers are multi-Emmy Award-winning producer Lorne Michaels (“Saturday Night Live”), JoAnn Alfano (“The Tracy Morgan Show”), Fred Goss and Nick Holly. The pilot was co-written by Fred Goss and Nick Holly. “Sons & Daughters” is from NBC Universal Television Studio and Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video Television.

Just saw that in the press bundle. Very interesting.

Damn, I thought it was a US version of the Australian soap...oh well.

I think it will be quite easy for it to survive given how low the bar has been set with "Commander In Chief." While the show still draws above 10 million in viewers, its fell to an absolutely pathetic 2.3 rating in adults last week. The show skews way too old for ABC. I'm assuming it will be back next season, but I wouldn't expect to see it on Tuesdays again. I'm betting ABC will go with sitcoms from 8-10pm.

you know up until yesterday i had no idea that lorne michales was even involved with this show i might chek it out

I'll check it out, but Scrubs is a priority.same here im willing to bet that no one on sons and daughters looks as good in a white lab coat as sarah chalke does on srubs

i meant scrubs

Glad that I came upon this thread! I actually started my own one on this show- but no one replied to me :( :( :(

Anyway, the commercials are awesome- I have a few in particular that are my favorites (i.e. drawing a hitler mustache on the aunt). I was excited to see that Gillian Vigman is on- she's a pretty funny lady so I'm glad to see her career advancing (I sound like her mother) - but seriously, the show looks great. I'm pretty excited- the premiere isn't too far off...

The previews look funny.

I know. I like that they have a bunch of different ones rather than the same one over and over. Have you seen them all?

Is Fred Goss the actor who does those Geico Commericals?.

Im not going to wacth it, i think it look stupid.

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Our review of the pilot episode is coming soon...

Is Fred Goss the actor who does those Geico Commericals?.

Hmmm...not sure- but I did see him on The Man SHow before- and he was pretty funny. Which Geico commercials did you think he was in? Maybe it will refresh my memory :)

Im not going to wacth it, i think it look stupid.

Stupid?! Stupid?! You think pure comedic genius is stupid?!

It my opition not your, and i saw the commerical to it and it do look stupid.

No need to get snappy, I was just kidding around! I happen to think the show looks really funny, so I was just wondering what you didn't find to be funny. That's all! What doesn't appeal to you about this?

I see the commtrical about 50 millon time a day, if i don't like show, i don't like it ok. i know it not on it.

Well, to each his own I guess. I just think it looks like it'll be a good one....

Read our review of the pilot here:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/sonsanddaughtersreview.html

Wow! I'm thrilled to see such a great review! I knew I had faith in this show for some reason! I actually just read this review from the Washington Post this morning: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/06/AR2006030601904.html

and it too was very good. It actually came from this critic who has a tendency to be a little tougher in the review department. Anyway, that plus your good review has me pretty excited for tonight.

I think I might check it out.

I just watched the season premiere. This family is definitely dysfunctional. LOL..I'm watching the 2nd episode now.

Loved the pilot, as you saw my review. The second episode was just as good! Hopefully people tune in.

it was kinda reminiscent of Arrested Development.

except not funny.

I am sad to say that I did not get to see The Debut of Sons and Daughters
because my Local ABC Affilate WGNO Joiened The Series Premiere of
Sons and Daughters in Progress at 8:30 pm Due to a Mayoral Debate
that aired from 7:00 pm until 8:30 pm on March 7, 2006

It was OK... not spectacular and frankly, boring considering the hype it got. I will be watching next week(primarily because nothing else is on), but it won't be a must-see show for me.

I expect it to beat Scrubs in the ratings, but not be that great considering all the promos ABC has given it. I think a 6.0 is a good estimate, but nothing would shock me(unless it got better than a 7).

I don't think I would call it boring Brent. It was extremely funny. It was SUCH a family sitcom. It was like watching a real family, IMO.

But I have to agree with you about the ratings. I'm doubtful it can achieve really really good ratings, but I hope it does well enough to continue on. We all know how ABC treats their sitcoms (like second-class citizens) if they don't pull in "Lost" numbers.

I loved it and can't wait to see it again next week!

It was alright not the best but not the worst, however it did make me fall asleep and miss boston legal so im pissed...

FOX stayed in the lead at 9 p.m. with "House," 12.6/19. The premiere of "The Unit" on CBS was impressive, building on its lead-in to average 11.4/17. ABC debuted the comedy "Sons & Daughters"; back-to-back episodes posted ratings of 5.4/8 and 5.0/7. An hour of "Scrubs" averaged 3.7/5 for NBC. Repeats of "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Girlfriends" on UPN tied The WB's "Supernatural" rerun.

It lost viewers as the hour went on... this is nothing to brag about at ABC afterall the promos and hype around it.

According to Jim and a REPEAT George Lopez got the same ratings last Tuesday(and Jim faced the highest-rated half hour of Idol).

Bad.

It had it's moments. It was good to see Wojo from Barney Miller. I miss seeing him on television.

I agree the ratings aren't anything to write home about. I'd like to see Crumbs back without Dancing as it's lead in.

The show also wasn't laugh out loud hilarious but it was good and has potential. Tuesday's at 9PM is ultra competitive, so I'm not surprised at all we got the ratings we did, but for them to drop in the second half hour. Ouch.

It was alright, but only one laugh out loud moment.
When Whitey said "Ohh, regulations, big five syllable word"

And then the assistant manager said "it's actually just four"

....or something along those lines.

I loved the part when they attempted to have sex and it didn't work-- then he goes "I'm sorry......the colonel didn't...." or whatever it was. There were a ton of lines that really cracked me up. I enjoyed it and am not impressed with everyone being so down on it. Good ratings or not, I laughed. That's all that matters to me. There's a guy named Whitey on it- I mean, c'mon people!

it was kinda reminiscent of Arrested Development.

except not funny.


I kind of thought the same thing. I think now people are going to start comparing the shows.

There were a ton of lines that really cracked me up. I enjoyed it and am not impressed with everyone being so down on it. Good ratings or not, I laughed. That's all that matters to me. There's a guy named Whitey on it- I mean, c'mon people!
ratings dont mean anything to me, i just didnt enjoy the show very much - possibly because I watched it right after I finished watching two very funny episodes of Scrubs, but also because it seemed like eveyone was trying too hard to be funny, it was too desperate and none of the characters were very likeable (at least IMHO)

WGNO did Re-Broadcast The Series Premiere of Sons and Daughters on early Wednesday, March 8 at 2:05 am to bad it was on when everyone was sleeping.

ratings dont mean anything to me, i just didnt enjoy the show very much - possibly because I watched it right after I finished watching two very funny episodes of Scrubs, but also because it seemed like eveyone was trying too hard to be funny, it was too desperate and none of the characters were very likeable (at least IMHO)

I feel like we didn't get to know the characters enough yet, but that's only b/c it was the first episode. It seemed like more of introductions than anything else- to familiarize the audience with the characters. I enjoyed what I saw so far, but can't say they are likable or not until I see more of them.

I finally got a chance to catch the premiere episodes.

The show isn't bad, but I think they're trying a bit too hard with the whole "dysfunctional" thing.
Honestly, if I was Cameron, I would move to another state instaead of dealing with that family.
But, it's a pretty good idea for a show, and any show that tries to break out of the traditional sitcom mode (like Arrested Development and Curb Your Enthusiasm - two shows that have greatly influenced Sons And Daughters) is fine with me.

Exxactly, breaking out of tradition is good. Really good. The same old thing gets boring after awhile.

As for the dysfunction, it's sad to say but so many families really are that dysfunctional- it's not too far off of reality in a bunch of cases!

Poor ABC.

At 9 p.m., "Idol's" ratings improved to 19.5/28 as the 12 finalists belted out Stevie Wonder songs. "The Unit" held up pretty well in its second week on CBS, scoring a 10.9/16. Two episodes of "Scrubs" on NBC drew a 3.6/5, tying with an hour of "Sons & Daughters" on ABC (NBC had a small edge in viewers). A second hour of "Top Model" on UPN moved ahead of The WB's "Supernatural" rerun.

That is so unbelievably sad. Can't wait to see how ABC spins this mess. :rolleyes:

It was up against American Idol this week. Comedies always suffer against it.

it finally had something that made me laugh last night - when Cameron made his heartfelt apology to his wife when he's on the stage, and then he announces that he is dedicating the next song to her... Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" :lol:

How about last night's episodes? That little girl with the tutu was SO funny about not wanting to read Don's script. Don, himself, made me laugh quite a few times also...

I must say, "Sons And Daughters" has grown on me since its premiere.

It's a funny show with a fine ensemble cast.

I don't know if that's definitely true- I haven't heard that it's officially cancelled or anything. I hope not anyway, I adore this show...cracks me up.

The whole group together just crack me up. Don and Sharon as a couple are just too funny. Give me my Sons & Daugthers!

Short-Lived Sitcom Potpourri (XXV) – Broadway Video Busts (https://jacksonupperco.com/2025/04/09/short-lived-sitcom-potpourri-xxv-broadway-video-busts/)

Thoughts: This frenetic hand-held single-cam about a large dysfunctional family was often compared at the time to Arrested Development, which shared a similar look and basic “large dysfunctional family” premise. But Sons & Daughters is more low-concept – there are no moguls facing legal troubles here — and both its stories and its characters reflect this fact, lacking the specifics of Arrested’s situation that helped cultivate a special ethos. No, this is basically just any ol’ extended family sitcom… made unique by the deliberately unpolished single-cam framing and the gimmicky selling point that it proudly advertises at the top of each episode: some of the dialogue is improvised! That’s right, just like Curb Your Enthusiasm (and other mid-‘00s sitcoms that turned to this gimmick to imply freshness via spontaneity, like Goss’ earlier Significant Others), Sons & Daughters was partly outlined/scripted and partly improvised. Obviously, it’s not nearly as funny as Curb – there are some funny people on it (Eden Sher, Max Gail, Dee Wallace, etc.), but no one is as well-defined as Larry David, and the character work is inconsistent as a result of improv’s inherent lack of deliberation, and that’s not great in this case because the premise is so low-concept that it needs more tangible things on which to grip.