(ABC / Richard Cartwright)
Network: ABC.
Episodes: 23 (half-hour).
Seasons: One.
TV show dates: October 16, 2018 — May 21, 2019.
Series status: Cancelled.
Performers include: Michael Cudlitz, Mary McCormack, Sam Straley, Caleb Foote, Sawyer Barth, Christopher Paul Richards, Jack Gore, Andy Walken, and Santino Barnard.
TV show description:
From creator Tim Doyle, The Kids Are Alright TV show is an ensemble sitcom, set in the 1970s. The series follows the Cleary family, a traditional Irish-Catholic clan, as they live out their lives amidst the upheaval of the 1970s.
The story unfolds in a great Los Angeles working-class neighborhood. The family is headed up by married couple Peggy (McCormack) and Mike Cleary (Cudlitz), who are raising eight rowdy and energetic sons. Because this is the 70s, the boys live most of their lives outside, and they do so with a lack of supervision that might cause modern helicopter parents to faint.
Their lives are chugging along more as less as expected, until the Clearys’ eldest son, Lawrence (Straley) comes home to announce he’s quitting the seminary. Instead of pursuing the priesthood, he wants to embark on a mission to “save the world.” Mike and Peggy never expected to be raising their brood in such turbulence, but as the song goes, the times they are a-changing.
Series Finale:
Episode #23 — Irish Goodbye
Peggy struggles with Lawrence’s decision to move out of the house, especially after she discovers that he is secretly moving in with a girlfriend she’s never met. Lawrence’s determination to keep Peggy out of his personal life only causes her to investigate further, while Mike welcomes his departure. Meanwhile, Timmy can’t find his ventriloquist dummy, Knuckles, and learns that Joey took him without asking.
First aired: May 21, 2019.
What do you think? Do you like The Kids Are Alright TV series? Should this ABC TV show have been cancelled or renewed for season two?
My family and I were so disappointed that The Kids are Alright was cancelled after one season. My husband and I grew up during this time period and every show was a great reminder of our childhood. Even our 30-year-old daughter enjoyed the show. Bring it back, ABC!
We didn’t like the Kids Are Alright, we LOVED it! It’s our favorite show we looked forward to every week. The cast was superb and excellent entertainment for the entire family! Please, please, please…..someone bring this show back!!!
The Kids Are Alright was my favorite show. Always funny and had become my must see TV for Tuesday nights. Excellent writing and a wonderful cast. It was something for every age group and was so nice to revisit 1972. Please someone bring this show back!!!
It has the potential of Seinfeld, The Office, etc. Genuune, feel good humor.
Why would anyone cancel this show? It was fantastic! It was original and funny and the characters were great! I’m severely disappointed this isn’t coming back.
Stupid ABC.
I love this SHOW.. I MEAN REALLY, WHY.. WHY DO YOU GUYS GET RID OF THE GOOD SHOWS AND KEEP THE DUMB ONES LIKE REALITY ONES AND ANOTHER COP SHOW.. I SWEAR IF THERE IS ANOTHER MEDICAL OR POLICE SERIES.. tHIS WAS ORIGINIAL AND HIT CLOSE TO HME, AND YOU CACELLED IT? I MEAN LIKE ROSANNE… please KEEP THE SHOW…
Ok I got carried away, and did not proofread.. Seriously though, keep the show on.. It was so good.. Good character development, good story lines.. and so on..
This was only one of two half hour comedies that I tuned in to watch. As the reviewer stated, I had seen the resemblance to “The Wonder Years” which I also watched. The writing on The Kids Are Alright is probably the best I have seen, and that is why I watch it. The premise is true, and having lived through the seventies, just outside Los Angeles, I can vouch for the verity of the scenes. I appreciate that there is no laugh track. Please DON’T change that. One criticism I would like to make. Since there is no laugh… Read more »
ABC will be foolish to cancel this wonderful show!!
This was my favorite show. It was funny and irreverent. ABC is insane to cancel this great ensemble.
That’s ******** to this show is great
I cant believe this quality TV show was cancelled. It was my favorite. Great story lines and great acting by the whole cast. Hopefully another network will be wise enough to pick this program up as they did in Last Man Standing.
Why would you cancel this show? My family loved it! So much better than 90% of whats on now. Great actors, & comedy. Whats going on? I sure hope you are smart & bring this one back.
WHY WAS THIS SHOW CANCELLED??? It was the best sit-com I’ve watched in years. It cracked me up, made me nostalgic, and actually had a thoughtful message. The characters and actors that played them were perfect, not a dud, which is hard in such a large cast. What happened here? Please re-think this. At least try and sell it to Netflix, or some network that will keep it going.
I agree, this was one of the best shows on TV. It reminded me of the older shows that were not so racy and just fun. It had normal every day situations and not a lot of, if any, racy stuff. I think ABC really screwed up cancelling it. I guess ABC thinks everyone wants to watch crap like the bachelor/ette—NOT!
There was not a program that I looked forward to as TKAA. In my opinion the only possible reason for the cancellation was simply the writers were not good enough to carry on with probably one of the very best shows on TV, the purity of the program was so refreshing. Huge failure on ABC’s part.
In my opinion the writing was the thing that made this show a standout. The dialog was superb! Could it perhaps have been the network felt the Irish Catholic twist to the show might have made some viewers uncomfortable?..maybe, I don’t know what they could criticize about it. I agree the show was fresh and intelligent.