Oh. My. God. Life Unexpected is famous!
Let me explain. I was doing a bit of narcissistic Googling the other day. I like to keep an eye on how my little blog is doing.
So I’m searching for Life Unexpected to see where it shows up on search engines and I accidentally find out that it was also the name of a short lived but much loved American TV show. I know! 🤯
So obviously I had to binge watch the whole thing.
Well, I wouldn’t have watched the whole series if it wasn’t any good, but I had to give it a try. After getting through two series (26 episodes) in 2 weeks, I am giving it a glowing review.
Life Unexpected is a heart warming, feel good show about second chances, unexpected connections, and real life struggles. It’s got that perfect blend of comedy and pathos, plus relatable and likeable characters. TV Guide Magazine called it “Juno meets Gilmore Girls”, which is fair.
It ran between 2010 and 2011 so it’s of its time, but I think I enjoyed it more for that. The show felt nostalgic, like the TV version of comfort food, and I really looked forward to watching an episode or three each night. I was genuinely sad when I finished the last one.
So this is my little attempt to ensure that the TV show my blog was unwittingly named after lives on. As well as a way for me to deal with the grief of knowing there will never be another episode… ðŸ˜ðŸ˜‚
Concept and Characters
What would you do if a 15 year old girl showed up one day and told you she was your daughter?
That’s the concept for Life Unexpected.
The show revolves around Lux Cassidy, a teenager who was given up for adoption at birth. Her Mum and Dad had a naughty night in high school but were not ready to become parents. They weren’t even a couple, it was a one night stand and they went their separate ways afterwards. When Lux shows up 15 years later they are forced to come together again for her sake, but they have very different lives, and in the mother’s case, a fiancé.
The main characters throughout both series are:
- Lux Cassidy (Played by Britt Robertson) – A smart and independent teenager who has spent her life bouncing between foster homes.
- Cate Cassidy (Played by Shiri Appleby) – A popular radio host struggling to balance her career, her fiancé, and her newfound role as a mother.
- Nate “Baze” Bazile (Played by Kristoffer Polaha) – Lux’s easy going but irresponsible father who still lives like a college student.
- Ryan Thomas (Played by Kerr Smith) – Cate’s responsible and caring fiancé, who finds himself caught in the middle of the family drama.
- Math Rogers (Played by Austin Basis) – Baze’s best friend and former high school classmate who has had a long time crush on Cate.
There are other good characters of course, but this is the core cast.
Storyline
I’ll give you a season by season run down, but the overall story is about how the characters adjust to their new situation, as well as learning to deal with their pasts. Old flames are rekindled, love triangles emerge, and some very serious issues concerning neglect in the care system are raised.
In the end though, the story becomes one about forgiveness, love and connection, hope, and moving forward.
Oh gosh I’m tearing up just thinking about it again…
Series 1
Lux Cassidy has been brought up in the care system. She was neglected and emotionally abused, and decides to file for emancipation (become independent of the system) at 15 years old. However, legally, she needs the signature of her biological parents to do that.
Lux tracks down her biological father, Nate “Baze” Bazile, but it turns out he never even knew about the pregnancy. Lux’s mother, Cate, never told him. Baze still lives like a frat boy with his friends, including Math Rogers, who had a high school crush on Cate.
Baze gets hold of Cate and tells her about Lux, only he calls her live on air. She is now a successful radio host. When Cate finds out Lux was never adopted by a loving family, and instead went into the care system she is devastated.
Nevertheless, all three go to court with the emancipation papers signed, only for the judge to place Lux in the custody of Baze and Cate instead.
This us where things get messy.
We meet Ryan, Cate’s co-host and fiancé who is supportive but struggles with Cate’s and Baze’s relationship, whilst Baze begins to realise he has lingering feelings for Cate. He wants to be a good father but has never had any responsibility before, so finds his new role challenging. He ends up sleeping with Cate’s sister, Abby, at one point. Dammit, Baze!
Cate has a history of self sabotaging relationships and is showing signs of doing similar with her and Ryan, while Lux attends a new high school and begins dating a bad boy named, Bug. Weird name, but I digress. She us used to being independent so finds it difficult to suddenly be under her parent’s care, especially given their long absence in her life.
Towards the end of the first series, Cate and Baze learn about the ill treatment Lux suffered in care and become fiercely protective of her. Lux is beginning to see that her Mum and Dad are trying their best for her and that her relationship with Bug is keeping her tied to her old life.
The series concludes with Cate and Ryan’s wedding. Cate’s commitment issues have caused lots of tension between her and Ryan throughout the series, and she questions going through with the wedding. Baze decides to try to stop the ceremony but arrives too late and is heartbroken to find they have already been wed.
And that’s how we leave it. Lux is happy with her new, if dysfunctional, family life, while Cate and Baze still have a ways to go to find contentment.
Series 2
We pick up with Cate and Ryan returning from their honeymoon. They are not a happy couple. Ryan is all too aware of Cate’s second thoughts, and to make matters worse, his ex, Julia, enters the picture.
Baze has accepted he has lost his chance with Cate, but still wants to mature. He puts a lot of effort in to building a career and buys a bar from his father. The bar ends up on fire at one point and Baze rushes in thinking Lux is inside. She’s not, but it shows everyone the man he has become. He even starts dating a sensible career woman named Emma, who, on paper, should be great for Baze, but their relationship is constantly tested, not least when Emma’s estranged son, Sam, comes into the picture.
There are a lot of estranged children in Life Unexpected!
Lux is doing well at high school now Bug is out of the way, but then a young teacher in his twenties, Eric Daniels, begins working there. They form an instant connection and develop feelings for each other despite knowing the relationship would be inappropriate. This is one of the most controversial storylines of the series and causes a huge rift.
Cate and Baze discover that Lux was in an abusive relationship with an older man before reconnecting with them. So when they find out about Eric, who to his credit tried to call things off, they are furious. They make him resign and leave town or they will tell the authorities.
A string of affairs and one night stands make series 2 quite complicated to explain, but here are the affairs:
- Eric and Lux (technically not an affair, but a naughty relationship nonetheless)
- Emma and Baze’s Dad (before she met Baze)
- Ryan and Julia (they reconnect while Ryan and Cate are married)
- Baze and Paige (Paige is Ryan’s sister)
These all create loads of tension, especially considering Baze has genuine feelings for Cate.
Ryan and Cate’s relationship is clearly dead, all they do is fight, so Ryan eventually calls time on the marriage and moves to take a job in another city. This leaves the door open for Baze and Cate to make it work.
The final episode jumps forward two years to tie the whole thing together. Lux delivers a speech at her high school graduation which shows how far she has come and how happy she is with her life now. Cate and Baze kiss and things look hopeful for their future.
Reception and Cancellation
The first series went down really well in terms of reviews, but it wasn’t getting the viewing numbers it needed. This was partly down to the network, The CW, who didn’t give the show the support it needed.
The fools!
The show itself wasn’t quite on brand for the network either, who were moving towards a more teen focussed line up. Nevertheless, there were efforts made to attract an audience, such as a crossover event with the hugely popular ‘One Tree Hill’. Characters from both shows met each other, the hope being that One Tree Hill viewers would want to watch Life Unexpected as a result, but it wasn’t enough.
The creative team were hoping for another nine episodes to be ordered for series two, but The CW (the network) didn’t go ahead. This meant they had to wrap the show up prematurely and with little time to prepare.
This is why the ending felt so abrupt. The writers knew it wasn’t coming back so they fast forwarded two years to try and tie up each storyline. It wasn’t perfect, but as the show’s creator, Liz Tigelaar said, “By the end, they all get to where they are supposed to be“.
So the long and the short of it, is that the people who watched it loved it, but not enough people knew about the show so it didn’t get the audience it deserved.
A huge missed opportunity if you ask me!