If you liked the TV show Gilmore Girls and/or the movie Juno, then you will love the new CW TV series Life Unexpected. You will doubly love this show if you have any connection to adoption/foster care, which is why I am telling you about it!

Here is the basic storyline: Cate (played by Shiri Appleby) was a high school “nerd,” and Baze (played by Kristoffer Polaha) was a popular jock . They hooked up one night during a school dance and had a crisis pregnancy. Baze would not admit to having had sex with Cate at all, much less that he was the father, and he always assumed that Cate “got rid of it” until his almost-16-year-old birth daughter Lux (played by Brittany Robertson) showed up on his doorstep at the beginning of the pilot. Baze peaked in high school and is now an immature bar owner. Meanwhile, Cate went on to become a very popular morning disc jockey at a local radio station.

Cate placed Lux for adoption as a newborn with the foster care system and was assured that there was a long wait list for people wanting to adopt a blonde haired, blue eyed newborn. However, unbeknownst to Cate, Lux was born with a hole in heart and endured multiple surgeries during her first three years of life. By the time she was declared healthy, nobody wanted to adopt her as an older child, and she has lived her entire life in the foster care system.

The only reason Lux tracked down her birth parents was to get them to sign the termination of parental rights (TPR). Apparently, no TPR was ever entered in 16 years, and this is necessary for Lux to have a shot at gaining emancipation on her 16th birthday. As it turns out, the signatures were not binding without a notary and witnesses, so the judge denied the request for emancipation and, instead, placed Lux back into the custody of her birth parents. And so our story begins…

Both birth parents are immature and afraid of commitment, but Lux has stolen their hearts, so they want to try parenting her. To quote Lux, “You can’t be parents. You both need parents!” The pilot ended with Lux having her first birthday party in 16 years and saying that her wish has already come true.

Don’t let the clichés (all foster homes are bad, nobody wants to adopt anything other than a newborn, etc.) drive you away from this enchanting show. You will also have to suspend your disbelief with some of the set up (such as a TPR not being entered in 16 years). The show has a lot of heart, and the banter is just what is needed for anyone like me who is still going through Gilmore Girls withdrawal. The second episode airs tonight at 9:00 on the CW. Don’t miss it!

Photo credit: Lynda Bernhardt