Cancer patient Scott Perry worries about his five children growing up without his help and advice. He and his wife Robin recruit three friends to act as a "council of dads" to be father figures to his children. After Scott dies his loved ones form an expanded chosen family. Based on the book of the same name by Bruce Feiler, the series was developed by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan. It premiered on NBC as part of the 2019–20 television season, on March 24, 2020, and was cancelled after ten episodes.
Council Of Dads provides examples of:
- Adorably Precocious Child: J.J. shows shades of this as he explains to his grandmother that he understands most people from her generation don’t understand gender identity or what it means to be trans-leaving her agape. Charlotte also has her moments, such as when she dresses up as "breaking the glass ceiling" for Halloween.
- The Alcoholic: Larry and Scott met when the former became the latter's AA sponsor. Both have faced significant consequences due to their drinking:
- Scott's drinking led to his ex-girlfriend Michelle having a one-night stand with his best friend. His daughter, Luly, was eventually placed into the care of another family after Scott's drinking prevented him from being a competent father. Only when Anthony lied about Scott's sobriety status was he able to get Luly back from her foster parents.
- Larry's alcoholism slowly drove everyone but his daughter away. She too cut off all contact after he got behind the wheel while drunk and crashed into a tree, with his entire family inside.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Robin sees that her transphobic mother has forced J.J to wear a dress, she asks her this:Robin's mother: I'm only doing what I think is best.Robin: Best for J.J or best for you, Mom?
- The Baby of the Bunch: Hope is the fifth and youngest child in the Perry family.
- Big Damn Heroes: Anthony arrives just in time to save Robin and Theo from the hurricane ravaging their home.
- Delicate and Sickly:
- Charlotte originally came to the US for a life saving heart surgery when she was five. She eventually has to undergo surgery again after collapsing in the backyard during a water gun fight.
- Sage, the mother of the child Oliver and Peter adopt, has a degenerative disease that drastically shortens her life expectancy.
- Happily Adopted:
- Charlotte is Scott and Robin’s only adopted child and is just as much as part of the family as the rest of her siblings.
- Luly thinks of her stepmother Robin as her birth mother, Michelle, has been out of her life since she was nine. She feels the same way about Scott after she learns Anthony is her biological father.
- Tess is doted on by her adoptive fathers Oliver and Peter. The same can be said for her adoptive baby brother Hampton, who joins the family in the series finale.
- Happily Married: The show's three main couples (Scott and Robin, Lily and Evan, Oliver and Peter) all count as this.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Charlotte
- Parental Substitute: Larry, Anthony, and Oliver act as fatherly figures to Scott and Robin’s children. Also overlaps with Papa Wolf.
- Plot-Triggering Death: The series starts when Scott dies of cancer.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: This is how Robin and Luly fall for Scott and Evan respectively.
- Trans Tribulations: J.J is a FTM (Female to Male) transgender child and the second youngest of the family. They go out of their way to protect him from discrimination from homophobic bullies, such as his grandmother (who forced him to wear a dress) and gossiping church ladies at a ceremony honoring Evan's mother.
