We don't see a lot of stay-at-home dads on TV. NBC's Up All Night is one of the few exceptions that I can think of off the top of my head, as Will Arnett's Chris stayed home to raise the baby while his wife (Christina Applegate's Reagan) worked as a producer on her best friend's talk show. But that's scripted television. What A&E has in mind is about the real thing. The network has ordered an unscripted series focused on stay-at-home dads called Modern Dads.
THR says Modern Dads comes from Real Housewives of New Jersey producers Sirens media. A&E has ordered eight episodes for its first season, which will focus on "a diverse group of stay-at-home dads balancing guy-life with dad-life." The show will be based out of Austin, which is where these dads are from.
It's certainly an interesting subject, which is why I'm kind of surprised we haven't already seen a reality show focusing on dad-parenting. More traditional men might not be open to forgoing their career in exchange for taking on the responsibilities of full-time child-rearing. From what I know about stay-at-home-parenting, it's a 24/7 job and a a busy one. It'll be interesting to see how this new series portrays men trying to balance the responsibility of taking care of a child (or children) with "guy-life," however that's defined.
Modern Dads joins Duck Dynasty as another family-related unscripted TV show to join A&E's growing list of original series on the reality side. If Modern Dads proves to be even half as successful as Duck Dynasty, A&E's made a good choice in moving forward with this project.
