Stars on Screen
Farewell to the Fosters: It’s always so nice when a favorite show gets a proper send-off. So many series are canceled suddenly and without warning, with their writers never given a chance to end things in a satisfying way. Luckily, one of Freeform’s most successful series is getting the finale it deserves. “The Fosters” premiered in 2013 and immediately attracted a loyal audience drawn in by the story of foster moms Stef (Teri Polo, “Meet the Parents,” 2000) and Lena (Sherri Saum, “Rescue Me”) raising five kids together. For its fans, it’s a very special show, and that deserves a very special three-night finale, starting Monday, June 4, and concluding Wednesday, June 6, on Freeform.
In the series, the lesbian couple raises Stef’s biological son Brandon (David Lambert, “Aaron Stone”), a pair of adopted twins (Noah Centineo, “T@gged” and Cierra Ramirez, “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”) and two foster children (Maia Mitchell, “Teen Beach Movie,” 2013, and Hayden Byerly, “Parenthood”), whom they later legally adopt into their family.
The popularity of “The Fosters” no doubt comes in part from its refusal to step gingerly around the real issues that a large, multi-ethnic family
headed by parents in a non-traditional relationship faces on a day-today basis. It’s a sad thing that the series is coming to an end, but sometimes, the end is really just the beginning.
The network has given the green light to begin production on a spinoff series starring Ramirez and Mitchell reprising their roles of Mariana and Callie and set several years after this week’s finale, launching new stories in the lives of the young adults. Several other cast members are also currently in talks to join the new series.
“The Fosters” may be coming to an end, but with a spinoff early on in production, this ending is really just the start of a new chapter for the beloved family. The special three-night finale begins Monday, June 4, on Freeform.