Alan Thicke and His Fascinating Family Return in Pop’s Unusually Thicke

They Love, Support, and Drive Each Other Crazy, Through Thicke & Thin!

Alan Thicke Pop TV

Beloved TV dad, Alan Thicke, returns with his real-life brood for a second season of his docu-comedy, Unusually Thicke. The charming (and very photogenic) family returns in new adventures on that push the envelope and have blurred the lines between reality and scripted comedy.

Alan’s three sons: teen-cutie Carter, pop-star Robin, and pot-dispenser Brennan, along with Alan’s much younger wife, Tanya, keep the TV legend feeling young while adding to his gray hair. And while the fun series focuses on the misadventures of Alan, Carter and Tanya, each of the back-to-back episodes usually features one of Alan’s famous friends stopping by. Cameos this season include Wayne Brady, Russell Peters and Cedric the Entertainer, Lance Bass, Kato Kaelin Alex Trebek, Cat Cora, and Alan’s son, Robin.

Catch a Sneak Peek Here:

I caught up with the legendary TV dad to find out what we can expect in Season 2 of Unusually Thicke. I did have to stop myself from starting our conversation with, “Show me that smile again …”

Alan and Tanya, what’s the theme of Unusually Thicke, Season 2?
Alan Thicke: Sex, drugs, rock and roll! It’s a little edgier this year. We’ve been doing not a reality show; it’s really a sitcom/reality because we know the stories we want to tell — they’re laid out — then we improvise them. We make it up as we go along. We have a same-sex story arc. We have a cannabis/pot story arc. We have a social media haters story arc where Tanya tracks them down and traps them in a club and justice prevails.

What’s a moment that you’re excited for fans to see?
I think a couple of the episodes that I mentioned are the ones that we’re proudest of that we think are funny and relevant: when Tanya takes on a social media bully; when I take on the cannabis industry; and when Carter has an anonymous admirer that wants him to go to the prom, and it’s another dude. That creates a lot of conversation.

Alan Thicke
Thicke as Thieves: Alan, Carter and Tanya Thicke.

How much of this comes from real life and how much of it is just you say, “what would be funny if our family did this?”
It actually all comes from real life. We’re essentially a reality show in that way. Everything is at least tangentially related to stuff that really goes on. We’re not stretching; there is always that sense of reality. But we try to make it a little more interesting by occasionally seeding the story … It’s our life.

Tanya, what made you want to participate in this kind of reality dramedy?
Tanya Thicke: It’s not that I wanted to. It kinda fell in our lap. My husband is just such a genius writer and producer, and who better to work with than your husband? We got to spend even more time together. The fact that it is a family show, and it is about us, and it is a positive show, is what really is encouraging for me.

Alan, were you surprised that your wife was so natural in front of the cameras?
Alan Thicke: You know, I wasn’t surprised. That’s one question I’m asked, “were you surprised that she was that funny or that talkative?” No. She was a model before. Nobody ever asked her to talk. Once we got her started, we couldn’t keep her quiet! She turned out to be quite a natural and really a great feature on the show.

Alan, I thought that your cameo in the This is Us pilot was wonderful.
Thank you. I thought it was a tremendously unique project. I think Dan Fogleman is a genius. I didn’t even fully understand it until I saw the whole show put together.

What did you think when you saw it?
I thought it was brilliant and it surprised me at the end. I could barely describe it and I think that’s the great feature of it — you have to watch the damn thing!

Did doing that guest spot make you want to return to sitcom television?
To a degree. You know I was very happy doing that. It was a wonderful schedule. I kinda like what I do now. I do a lot of corporate work. I do a lot of personal appearances — speeches and lectures, emceeing. I do plenty of episodic guest work — it’s almost like doing a series. I do a couple of movies here and there. I really kind of like the variety of it all.

Unusually Thicke > Pop > Wednesdays at 8pm ET/PT, 7pm CT beginning Sept. 21

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