Photo: NBC
Zeek Braverman – Parenthood
If I had a preference, every dad, TV or not, would be just like Zeek Braverman. He’s probably the ultimate example of modern fatherhood, and this character is one of my top five of all time. I’ll admit, I’m a fan of this show, this character, and the actor Craig T. Nelson. So I’m biased.
Zeek was the father to four children on the show Parenthood, and always, always had the right answers. Sage and patient, Zeek was whatever his children needed, even when they all needed something different from him. Sara, Adam, Crosby and Julia always needed something from their parents, and even when the children were at each other’s throats, Zeek was the touchstone they could rely on. He could be grumpy and obstinate, but the best part about this TV dad, was that he was a human.
Parenthood could sometimes border on overly sentimental, but Zeek was the balance for every melodramatic moment. Craig T. Nelson played this character, not as the saint I’m portraying him as, but as a complex, flawed man, who strived to do the right thing and be the right way. He was pulled in a hundred different directions over the course of the series, and he always managed to give enough of himself to satisfy his very needy children.