Recently I had the chance go behind the scenes of my favorite ABC Sitcom “The Kids Are Alright”. I was excited when I found out The Kids Are Alright had received a Back 9 order for a traditional 22-episode full season. The Kids Are Alright airs on Tuesdays at 8:30|7:30c or streaming or on demand.

While on the set I got to meet Caleb Foote (“Eddie Cleary”) and Michael Cudlitz (“Mike Cleary”), production designer Michael Whetstone, set decorator Claudette Didul, costume designer Susan Michalek, line producer Kris Eber and last but not least: the show’s creator, showrunner and executive producer Tim Doyle.

Set in the 1970’s, this ensemble comedy follows a traditional Irish-Catholic family, the Cleary’s, as they navigate big and small changes during one of America’s most turbulent decades. In a working-class neighborhood outside Los Angeles, Mike and Peggy raise eight boisterous boys who live out their days with little supervision. The household is turned upside down when oldest son Lawrence returns home and announces he’s quitting the seminary to go off and “save the world.” Times are changing and this family will never be the same. There are 10 people, three bedrooms, one bathroom and everyone in it for themselves.

During tomorrow nights episode Frank announces that he has decided to compete in the church boxing tournament, making it obvious that he’s playing for Mike’s affections. When Frank can’t cut it, Timmy steps in and takes up boxing in order to bond with his dad and get his approval. Ultimately, he has to choose between his dad’s dreams for him and his own dreams of showbiz glory. Elsewhere, feeling rusty after being at the seminary for so long, Lawrence asks Eddie to help prepare him for a date by taking him on a “practice date”.

My Favorite Photo’s While Visiting The Set

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Favorite Quotes During The Interview

Claudette Didul

“We do hit situations, though, where we have a lot of gags on the episodes. And we have to duplicate things. So sometimes it’s hard to find duplicated light fixtures and stuff like that. So we do have to cheat such as running to Target perhaps to get something. Lampshades aren’t always vintage because a lot of times 50 years later they’re falling apart.“We actually lucked out with a couple of estate sales. We literally took this whole drapery rig right out of the house as is, and it is so fragile that I couldn’t get it dry cleaned it looks awesome!”

Tim Doyle

“Well, right now we’re doing a thing in the backyard where the boys are playing with gunpowder and chemicals! Which was something that we all did when I was little, we basically spent the whole summer trying to figure out how to blow ourselves up Mom and Dad would just kinda watch and go, ‘Oh, look what they’re up to.’ Yeah! No, it’s a funny thing it’s amazing that we all survived that period. Again, some of us didn’t!”

Susan Michalek

“A little bit but the volume we need it’s so much that what we really get most of it from the rental houses in L.A. ABC has a costume house, Warner Brothers has a costume house and then there’s some private ones too, about eight or ten in L.A. Their buildings are the size of football fields and really high with racks of clothing where we go get most of it.”

During tonight’s episode Frank announces that he has decided to compete in the church boxing tournament, making it obvious that he’s playing for Mike’s affections. When Frank can’t cut it, Timmy steps in and takes up boxing in order to bond with his dad and get his approval. Ultimately, he has to choose between his dad’s dreams for him and his own dreams of showbiz glory. Elsewhere, feeling rusty after being at the seminary for so long, Lawrence asks Eddie to help prepare him for a date by taking him on a “practice date”.