# Single Parents (TV series)
**Single Parents** is an American television sitcom created by [Elizabeth Meriwether](https://www.edgepedia.org/elizabeth-meriwether) and J.J. Philbin that aired on ABC from September 26, 2018, to May 13, 2020. It follows a group of single parents who lean on one another to raise their 7-year-old children while trying to hold on to personal lives of their own.[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/single-parents-television/) The series ran for 45 episodes over two seasons before ABC canceled it in May 2020.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/single-parents/) • [3](https://www.tvline.com/news/single-parents-cancelled-season-3-abc-1185686/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | ABC, September 26, 2018 to May 13, 2020; two seasons, 45 episodes[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/single-parents-television/) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/single-parents/) |
| Creators | Elizabeth Meriwether and J.J. Philbin, both veterans of Fox's *New Girl*[4](https://deadline.com/2018/08/single-parents-abc-edgy-family-comedy-liz-meriwether-brad-garrett-taran-killam-tca-1202441868/) |
| Lead cast | Taran Killam (Will Cooper), Leighton Meester (Angie D'Amato), Kimrie Lewis (Poppy Banks), Jake Choi (Miggy Park), Brad Garrett (Douglas Fogerty)[5](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/single-parents/umc.cmc.756qkbq2fquz8xwkdit3rg2fp) |
| Child cast | Marlow Barkley (Sophie), Tyler Wladis (Graham), Devin Trey Campbell (Rory), Mia Allan (Emma), Ella Allan (Amy)[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/single-parents-television/) |
| Season 2 ratings | 0.6 demo rating and 2.6 million viewers (Live+Same Day), down 32 and 24 percent from season 1[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/single-parents-cancelled-season-3-abc-1185686/) |
| Critical score | Metacritic season 1 score of 67, with 70% of critics positive and 30% mixed[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/single-parents/) |
| Current availability | Streaming on Apple TV[5](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/single-parents/umc.cmc.756qkbq2fquz8xwkdit3rg2fp) |
## Premise and format
The series is a half-hour comedy in which a group of single parents help each other raise their 7-year-old kids and maintain some kind of personal life outside parenthood.[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/single-parents-television/) The story begins when the group meets Will Cooper, a 30-something father so focused on raising his daughter Sophie that he has lost sight of who he is as a man.[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/single-parents-television/) Angie D'Amato, Poppy Banks, Miggy Park, and Douglas Fogerty realize Will is falling down the "parental vortex," and they take him in, pulling him back toward a life beyond being a dad.[6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/single-parents)
At the show's 2018 Television Critics Association panel, J.J. Philbin likened the ensemble to people "in a foxhole together trying to get through the day," and Meriwether added that the characters "aren't necessarily people you would be friends with if you could choose your friends."[4](https://deadline.com/2018/08/single-parents-abc-edgy-family-comedy-liz-meriwether-brad-garrett-taran-killam-tca-1202441868/)
## Cast and characters
The adult leads are [Taran Killam](https://www.edgepedia.org/taran-killam) as Will Cooper, Leighton Meester as Angie D'Amato, Kimrie Lewis-Davis as Poppy Banks, Jake Choi as Miggy Park, and [Brad Garrett](https://www.edgepedia.org/brad-garrett) as Douglas Fogerty.[5](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/single-parents/umc.cmc.756qkbq2fquz8xwkdit3rg2fp) The children are played by Marlow Barkley (Sophie Cooper), Tyler Wladis (Graham D'Amato), Devin Trey Campbell (Rory Banks), and twins Mia Allan and Ella Allan (Emma and Amy Fogerty).[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/single-parents-television/)
Garrett described Douglas as a widower dermatologist and "a strong cup of coffee."[4](https://deadline.com/2018/08/single-parents-abc-edgy-family-comedy-liz-meriwether-brad-garrett-taran-killam-tca-1202441868/) [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter)'s launch review added that Douglas's much younger wife died suddenly, leaving him raising twin girls, and sketched Poppy as a bookstore owner and Miggy as a friend of Poppy with a newborn.[7](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/single-parents-review-1146928/) Killam, Meester, and Lewis each appeared in all 45 episodes.[8](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7845644/fullcredits/)
## Production and development
Meriwether created, wrote, and executive produced all seven seasons of Fox's *New Girl*, one of 20th Century Fox TV's most successful comedies of the preceding decade, and she extended her overall deal with the studio around the show's 2018 TCA panel.[4](https://deadline.com/2018/08/single-parents-abc-edgy-family-comedy-liz-meriwether-brad-garrett-taran-killam-tca-1202441868/) She teamed with long-time *New Girl* writer J.J. Philbin, and the pair took the project to ABC because, in Meriwether's words, "ABC has such amazing comedies about family and we felt like this was a great home for it."[4](https://deadline.com/2018/08/single-parents-abc-edgy-family-comedy-liz-meriwether-brad-garrett-taran-killam-tca-1202441868/)
The series was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and ABC Studios, with Elizabeth Meriwether Productions, J.J. Philbin Productions, and [ABC Signature](https://www.edgepedia.org/abc-signature) also credited.[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/single-parents-television/) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/single-parents/) Jason Winer is credited as a director.[5](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/single-parents/umc.cmc.756qkbq2fquz8xwkdit3rg2fp) The show aired at 9:30 p.m., a slot Meriwether noted made it "basically cable" in terms of content latitude, and production took place as 20th Century Fox TV passed from 21st Century Fox into Disney ownership.[4](https://deadline.com/2018/08/single-parents-abc-edgy-family-comedy-liz-meriwether-brad-garrett-taran-killam-tca-1202441868/)
## Episodes
Season 1 premiered on September 26, 2018, and ran 23 episodes; season 2 aired 22 episodes from 2019 to 2020, for 45 episodes in total.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/single-parents/) The series carried a TV-14 rating.[6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/single-parents) The final episode aired on May 13, 2020.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/single-parents-cancelled-season-3-abc-1185686/)
## By the numbers
In its second season the show averaged a 0.6 demo rating and 2.6 million total viewers in Live+Same Day numbers, down 32 percent in the demo and 24 percent in audience from its freshman run.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/single-parents-cancelled-season-3-abc-1185686/) Of the 10 sitcoms ABC aired that season, it ranked No. 7 in the demo and ninth in audience, ahead of only *Fresh Off the Boat*'s farewell run.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/single-parents-cancelled-season-3-abc-1185686/)
The cancellation came in a broad purge: ABC axed *Single Parents* the same day as *Bless This Mess*, *Schooled*, and *[Emergence](https://www.edgepedia.org/emergence-tv-series)*, while announcing renewals for 13 other series.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/single-parents-cancelled-season-3-abc-1185686/)
## Reception
Season 1 scored 67 on Metacritic, with seven positive reviews (70%), three mixed reviews (30%), and none negative.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/single-parents/) The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus read: "While the jokes can be a little juvenile, *Single Parents* earns brownie points for a likable cast and a funny focus on parental struggles."[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/single_parents/s01)
The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman, reviewing the premiere on September 26, 2018, called the pilot a "paint-by-numbers" approach and wrote that the show takes its cues from ABC family comedies such as *black-ish* but that its jokes are "too sophomoric" to match that series or the Emmy-winning *Modern Family*.[7](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/single-parents-review-1146928/) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/single_parents/s01) Audience reviews on the aggregator pages later expressed disappointment at the cancellation and hope that a streamer such as Hulu might revive the show.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/single_parents/s01) The series received one Young Artist Awards win and one nomination.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/single-parents/)
## Cancellation and availability
ABC canceled the series in May 2020 after two seasons, and the May 13 season finale became the series finale.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/single-parents-cancelled-season-3-abc-1185686/) That episode ended unresolved: after Will drunkenly confessed his love for her, Angie headed to Barstow for the summer with Graham's father, Derek, played by [Adam Brody](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-brody), Meester's real-life husband.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/single-parents-cancelled-season-3-abc-1185686/)
The series is available for streaming on Apple TV.[5](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/single-parents/umc.cmc.756qkbq2fquz8xwkdit3rg2fp) In Japan, 20th Century Studios continues to distribute it under the title シングル・ペアレンツ, describing the protagonist ウィル as a kind-hearted single father.[10](https://www.20thcenturystudios.jp/drama/single-parents)
## References
1. [Single Parents (television), D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/single-parents-television/)
2. [Single Parents Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/single-parents/)
3. ['Single Parents' Cancelled, No Season 3 For ABC Comedy, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/news/single-parents-cancelled-season-3-abc-1185686/)
4. ['Single Parents' Will Be ABC's "Edgy" Family Comedy, Promise Creators And Cast, Deadline (TCA)](https://deadline.com/2018/08/single-parents-abc-edgy-family-comedy-liz-meriwether-brad-garrett-taran-killam-tca-1202441868/)
5. [Single Parents, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/single-parents/umc.cmc.756qkbq2fquz8xwkdit3rg2fp)
6. [Single Parents, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/single-parents)
7. ['Single Parents' Review, The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/single-parents-review-1146928/)
8. [Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7845644/fullcredits/)
9. [Single Parents: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/single_parents/s01)
10. [シングル・ペアレンツ, 20th Century Studios Japan](https://www.20thcenturystudios.jp/drama/single-parents)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › American sitcoms and comedy series › 2010s and later network sitcoms*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license