A few weeks ago, I had the chance to check out the set of one of my new favorite comedies, The Kids Are Alright! The show is about a family of ten- including eight brothers- and takes place in 1972. We had the opportunity to walk around the Cleary household and even see them setting up to film a scene! Read on for ten things I learned while talking with Caleb Foote {“Eddie Cleary”}, Michael Cudlitz {“Mike Cleary”}, production designer Michael Whetstone, set decorator Claudette Didul, costume designer Susan Michalek, line producer Kris Eber, and the show’s creator, showrunner, and executive producer Tim Doyle!
1. The Kids Are Alright is the only comedy show to build a full, real backyard set. They have an “fake” backyard that you see on exterior shots of the house, but for scenes that actually take place in the yard, they have a real, 7,000 sq ft backyard. There are real trees, and there’s even a full layer of dirt under the layer of fake grass {which was a durability choice} to make it look more realistic. They did all this to solve the problem that most comedies have- the backyard sets are hard to light, so they always look fake. Because this show uses a real set, they can use real light.
2. Every cabinet is completely stocked in the Cleary household- nothing is empty. This is because as the mother of eight kids, Peggy would never have the chance to stop and do nothing- she is always doing something. Having the cabinets and everything fully “dressed” with props allows her to grab things to cook, clean, sew, iron, etc. while she’s talking to the other members of the family.
3. The set is made of mostly vintage finds. Everything is from the time period, all the way down to each and every book and magazine on the tables and on the bookshelves. The only exception? The furniture is even older, because as a frugal family in 1972 they wouldn’t have had furniture made in 1972, they would have had furniture made in the 50’s or 60’s. So, that’s what they have.
4. Because there are eight boys in the family, the clothes {particularly for the younger set} are meant to look like hand-me-downs. They aren’t ripped or gross, but the clothes the younger kids are wearing “today” might be the clothes the oldest brothers wore ten years prior, in 1962, and the styles the kids wear reflect this.
5. They need a lot of vintage clothing for each episode- at one point they needed clothes for up to 275 background actors. In order to fulfill this need, they have to go to several costume rental houses. ABC and Warner Brothers each have one, and there are 8-10 private ones that they pull from. Each costume house is the size of a football field and stacked high with racks of clothing, and that’s where most of the clothing for the episodes comes from.
6. Each episode is shot in about a week, and they usually films episodes several weeks before they air. They read the episode on Thursdays, get the final script Friday, have the weekend to memorize it, and start filming on Mondays.
7. Even though the set is only a few months old, it’s already cluttered and dirty. This was done intentionally, since the house does have eight kids living in it after all. The carpet has stains, the walls have scuffs, and there are piles of laundry pretty much everywhere.
8. Tim Doyle, who created the series inspired by his own childhood, is also the narrator!
9. The names of his brothers have been changed, but many of the events in the show really happened to Tim or his brothers. He really grew up as one of eight boys in his family and it really was crazy!
10. The Kids Are Alright was the first script picked up to be made into a pilot for this fall season, and a full season has been ordered. Get ready for a whole lot of the Cleary’s!
If you haven’t seen this show yet, you really need to catch it! It’s really funny and even if you weren’t around in 1972 it will still make you laugh and likely remind you of someone you know {it reminds me of my mom as she was a teenager during that time}. You can catch up on streaming services.
If you have been watching, you’ll be excited to know there’s a new episode tonight! It’s called “Peggy’s Day Out” and here’s what is in store:
To hide a mess Eddie made, his girlfriend, Wendi, tries to distract Peggy by insisting she take a day off with a fun day out while they take care of the housework. To everyone’s surprise, Peggy accepts the offer and requests Wendi tag along, with the ulterior motive of teaching her a lesson. Meanwhile, Eddie enlists the help of his brothers to clean up and keep Mike out of the house while Wendi and Peggy are out. Elsewhere, Pat introduces Timmy to his secret dog on “The Kids Are Alright,” TUESDAY, NOV. 13 (8:31-9:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.
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