Entertainment

Katims Will Still Make You Cry Post-'Parenthood'

by Chrissa Hardy

When it comes to making us feel all the feels, there's nobody in television that gets us there quite like Jason Katims. He's the man behind the curtain of amazing, beloved shows you're probably still binging on. Roswell, Boston Public, and Friday Night Lights, are a few of his top gems. And as the series finale of Parenthood airs Thursday and we say goodbye to the Braverman family, we're all sure to end the evening in a massive puddle of tears. What will happen to Zeek? Will Joel and Julia live happily ever after? Will Max become a wildly successful photographer? (Oof, I'm already dreading this series departure.) And almost as importantly, what will Jason Katims do once Parenthood is over?

I mean, the man is practically an expert in emotions, and he just gets relationships. He can create a show with complex characters who are as relatable as they are interesting. He makes us root for things we would normally disregard in real life as everyday minutiae. And he makes us yearn for things that we never thought we wanted, like big chaotic family dinners, and living down the street from all of our siblings and in-laws.

Anything Katims puts his name on is basically a guaranteed success. So, naturally, I demand more from this incredibly brilliant storyteller. Luckily, he's got a few other iron in the fire, and I've ranked them from I love it I love it I love it, all the way to I will perma-cross my fingers if there's even a slight chance this could become a thing.

4. About a Boy

The show based on the movie, based on the book by Nick Hornby was picked up for a full second season run. NBC has yet to renew for a third season, but they haven't made any early calls to kill it either, so there's still hope. According to Variety, About a Boy is still a contender for a third season.

3. Ellen More or Less

This is a TV movie that started as a series pilot about a woman who loses a significant amount of weight and wants to reinvent herself. It's a struggle that most of us have faced, so we can sit confidently trust this tough task of getting used to a new body in the hands of Katims and New Girl writer JJ Philbin.

2. His Untitled Silicon Valley Medical Drama

NBC isn't the only network that hearts the work of Jason Katims. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Katims and Parenthood and About a Boy writer Sarah Watson are teaming up for a new medical drama for CBS. The show will center on a controversial young tech titan who opens his own hospital and has a cutting-edge approach to medicine. And because Katims is notorious for using the same actors across multiple projects, maybe we'll see a face we know and love in the lead role? I mean, I wouldn't be pissed if Taylor Kitsch was involved.

1. Friday Night Lights... The Movie (?!?!?!)

Speaking of Riggins in all of his long-haired glory – is a FNL movie in the works? If Katims had his way, the answer would be yes. Katims has already written an FNL script for a possible film, however, he emptied our full hearts and clouded our clear eyes with this defeating statement to Yahoo last year: "It's a matter of getting everybody on board and everybody available, so at this point, unfortunately, it doesn't look likely. I was hoping to do it."

So, what? Should we just give up on our dream of seeing the Taylor family live out their happily ever after? Is that what Coach Taylor would do? No. And if the script has been written, there's still a chance.

Images: Colleen Hayes/NBC; About a Boy/Tumblr, Giphy (2)