# The Fosters (2013)

> A police officer and a vice principal raise a blended family that grows to include two foster teens with troubled pasts.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/42459

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 104
- Episode runtime: 42 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Bradley Bredeweg, Peter Paige
- Network: ABC Family, Freeform
- Cast: Teri Polo, Sherri Saum, Jake T. Austin, Hayden Byerly, Noah Centineo, David Lambert, Maia Mitchell, Danny Nucci
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2262532/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: earnest, heartfelt, hopeful, emotional, warm

## What critics say

Audiences rate The Fosters positively, praising its heartfelt family storytelling and its willingness to tackle foster care and identity.

## Synopsis

The Fosters (2013-2018) is a United States family drama series created by Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige for ABC Family, later Freeform. Teri Polo plays Stef Foster, a dedicated police officer, and Sherri Saum plays Lena Adams, a school vice principal, a married couple raising a blended household of biological son Brandon (David Lambert), adopted twins Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) and Jesus (Jake T. Austin), and Danny Nucci's Mike Foster in the mix. The engine of the show is a placement that was supposed to last only a few weeks: Lena and Stef take in Callie Adams Foster (Maia Mitchell), a hardened teen with an abusive past, and her younger brother Jude (Hayden Byerly), and the household must absorb their trauma, their mistrust and their needs. Each season moves through school crises, custody battles, first romances, police station pressures and family rifts, with episodes built around the daily friction of a large home. Running five seasons and over a hundred episodes, it is a serialized, emotionally earnest drama with a warm, hopeful register. Set in contemporary Southern California, it has the sincere, heartfelt texture of the family dramas fans of Parenthood and This Is Us will recognize, with a teen drama pulse that suits viewers who enjoy Degrassi.

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