Comedy is always much more fun when done with heart. GROWING UP FISHER is a loving look at family where they successfully hid the fact that the father had been blind for years, until the day he got a service dog and moved out. Carefully playing for love and laughter, GROWING UP FISHER handles the father’s blindness and parents’ divorce with delicate aplomb.
During the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour, the cast and producers of GROWING UP FISHER provided their perspective on their poignant new show. Here are five reasons to check out GROWING UP FISHER:
Creator and executive producer DJ Nash happily shared that he created the show based on his real life experiences with his own father. He revealed, “It’s based on my childhood. My dad went blind when he was 11 years old and he hid his blindness from pretty much everyone outside the family for a long time. Then when my parents were getting divorced, he got a guide dog so he could be the dad he wanted to be.”
It always helps to capture the imagination of viewers with a voice that they recognize and smile with recognition each time they hear it. Beloved for all his film and television work, especially in comedy, Jason Bateman is a natural fit as narrator.
Society likes to condemn divorce as the evil tearing families apart, but in GROWING UP FISHER, they recognize and celebrate that for some families, divorce brings them closer together. It allows parents to live separately and still appreciate each other in raising a family. Creator/executive producer DJ Nash explained, “This couple was in a bad place, and now that they are getting divorced, they realize that they can exist on a better level. . . What is true of these parents is that they never let the fact that they’re getting divorced keep them from being amazing parents.”
Bringing their A-game, it is a pleasure watching both J.K. Simmons and Jenna Elfman bring characters, as amicably divorcing parents, to life. Life is always more fun when seen through a lens of rose-colored glasses, and their characters seem to be perpetually looking for the bright side of life and embracing all the charm and joy life has to offer. That positive attitude as portrayed by two experienced comedians is pure gold. As Jenna Elfman shared, “I love that she has these two things [divorce and law school] happening at the same time . . . but genuinely and devotedly loves her children.”
More shows would benefit from using pets more in their comedy. If the recent Puppy Bowl and Kitten Bowl are any indication, people love watching pets on television. In this case, GROWING UP FISHER created a role just for a dog. With J.K. Simmons’ character blind, the need for a guide dog really expands the appeal and comedy in the series. People are going to love Elvis (isn’t that the greatest name for a dog?!). For those wondering, Elvis is not a real guide-dog, as the producers did not want to take away a trained dog from a person who really needs one. So Elvis is just on the show to entertain and what an entertainer he is! 
GROWING UP FISHER premieres right after the closing ceremony of the Olympics on Sunday, February 23rd, and then airs in its regular timeslot on Tuesday, February 25th at 9:30 p.m. on NBC.
Tiffany Vogt is the Senior West Coast Editor, contributing as a columnist and entertainment reporter to TheTVaddict.com. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower).