Lopez produces new family drama

BURBANK, Calif. — “The Fosters” is a study in unlikely bedfellows.

The new ABC Family drama pairs mainstream star Jennifer Lopez and Peter Paige, who played bubbly Emmett in the cult favorite series “Queer as Folk,” as executive producers. It brings to television a rare depiction of a lesbian couple as heads of a household.

And “The Fosters,” airing its second episode at 8 p.m. Monday, combines a focus on the generally ignored lives of foster children with the challenges of an ethnically diverse home — a big reach for an hourlong series aimed at teenagers and young adults.

“I think in every time we have to kind of push that envelope and really be a reflection of what’s going on in society and … this show does that and in a smart, edgy, funny, heartfelt way,” said Lopez, who’s producing it with co-creators Paige and Bradley Bredeweg.

The 43-year-old actress-singer-dancer candidly cites her life as an example of the changing nature of family.

“You can’t keep spoon-feeding the idea of what the perfect family is. It just doesn’t exist,” she said. “Even myself, I have two kids, their dad (Marc Anthony) doesn’t live at home with us. I’m divorced. They have four stepbrothers and sisters from two other moms.”

“The Fosters” stars Teri Polo (“Meet the Parents”) and Sherri Saum as Stef Foster and Lena Adams, the couple whose family includes Stef’s biological son (David Lambert) from a former marriage, adopted twins (Cierra Ramirez, Jake T. Austin) and a foster teenager (Maia Mitchell) whose difficult past has left her wary. Oh, and Stef is a police officer who works with her ex-husband.

It makes for a tangled web that’s rich in storytelling possibilities, not just messages, its creators said.

“Draw a line between any two of these characters and there’s a relationship that hasn’t been explored before,” Paige said. “What’s it like to be the adopted brother whose best friend is the biological brother? What’s it like to be a foster child who’s come in the house and finds herself drawn to one of the boys?

“What’s it like to have your ex-husband, your son’s biological father who you work with, around, and does he have a role with your other kids?”

Quipped Bredeweg: “My God, I created the show and I’m so lost right now.”