Written by Peyton Brock, Photos by Peyton Brock and courtesy of SCAD
Reviewing “Council of Dads” presents a hard question: can someone respect and admire something they don’t enjoy?
Friday, Feb 28 at SCAD’s aTVfest, the pilot episode of “Council of Dads” was screened. The new NBC show, which is both set and shot in Savannah, has had numerous SCAD alumni, students, and professors work on it.
The plot centers around a father who is dying of cancer and how he puts together a council of dads made up of important men from his life, to help care for his wife and five children when he is gone. The show is an ensemble drama, much in the vein of the wildly successful and popular NBC show “This is Us.”
“Council of Dads” is admirable in its attempts if anything else. The show is genuinely progressive in its worldview, with bi-racial representation, trans representation and positive male role models who defy the toxic masculinity that rears its head in media.
However, its network TV cheesiness undercuts its emotional core, as in: it feels somewhat manufactured. While there’s no doubt that it was made with positive intentions, the production value, performances and writing feel weak and unpolished. The show is like a Hallmark card: it’s cute and wholesome, but disposable. The one standout in opposition to these criticisms is the episode’s handling of a trans character, as they are depicted in a positive, but not obtuse style. If developed further throughout the show, this character has the potential to represent trans people and their struggles in a very beneficial way.
After the screening, there was a Q&A with members of the cast, as well as the creators and show-runners, Joan Rater and Tony Phelan. The creators spoke to the fact that the show is based on a book, explaining how the book was written by a father, Bruce Feiler, who had cancer himself and planned a council of dads for his family if he were to die. However, “Bruce lived but we had to kill our dad [character],” Rater and Phelan said. They needed that emotional plot point to truly kickstart the series’ premise.
The actors also feel strongly about the show’s characters. “[I’ve] been waiting thirty years for this role,” said actor Michael O’Neill who plays Larry. “[The characters are] beautifully and truthfully written.”
Speaking to the show’s trans character, Rater and Phelan explained why they wait to reveal to the audience that the character is trans until towards the end of the first episode so as to confront the audience’s preconceived notions about trans people. “We wanted to introduce the character and have the audience love him, and then find out he’s trans” Rater and Phelan said.
“Council of Dads” is a mixed bag. It is admirable, but its cheesy earnestness must be noted. This being said, this review is in no way an indictment on anyone who finds themselves enjoying the show or those who worked on it. It’s obviously made with great ideals in mind of what it wants to represent and display, and, as network dramas go, made to the common production standards. The pilot of “Council of Dads” is not at the show’s full potential, but that very well could change as its run continues.
