Brothers & Sisters: A History

Before Brothers & Sisters returns for its fourth season on ABC on Sunday, September 27 at 10 PM, let’s take some time to look back on the history of the Walker family, walking down memory lane if you will.

The Walker Clan (and then some...)

This series, which debuted on ABC in 2006, centered on the Walker family, herded over by protective mother Nora (Sally Field) and business owner father William (Tom Skerritt). Their five grown children include Sarah (Rachel Griffiths), Kitty (Calista Flockart), Tommy (Balthazar Getty), Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and Justin (Dave Annable). Sarah and Tommy are part of the family owned business, Ojai Foods, a produce distributor alongside their father. Kevin is an attorney for a prestigious LA law firm, Kitty is a New York radio host focused on conservative Republican politics and Justin is a war veteran of Afghanistan. Also involved is Nora’s brother Saul (Ron Rifkin), who is the chief financial officer of the family business.

In the pilot episode we were introduced to this wildly raucous family only to see them deal with the unexpected death of patriarch William. Most of the first season was focused on the Walker clan dealing with his death and some disturbing secrets that revealed themselves, including his affair with Holly Harper (Patricia Wettig) and his embezzlement of the company pension fund.

As the first season progressed, we saw the family function through the stages of grief and come out on the other side much different people than they were before. In some cases, they were stronger and in others no so much. Tommy and his wife Julia (Sarah Jane Morris) eventually had twins (a boy and a girl) thanks to sperm donations made by both brothers Justin and Kevin (the couple as well as the brothers did not want to know who was the birth father). And, the family learned that their father William had a child Rebecca (Emily Van Camp) with Holly Harper.

When Season 2 returned in 2007, Tommy and Julia were struggling with the death of their infant son, which drove Julia out of LA, seeking comfort from her parents. The season also showed the aftermath of Sarah’s break-up with her husband Joe (Jon Pyper-Ferguson) and a bad business decision she made that forced her to leave the family business. Kevin’s affair with pastor Jason McCallister (Eric Winter) ended with Kevin rekindling a romance with former love Scotty (Luke Mcfarlane), who he ended up marrying in the season finale. Meanwhile, mom Nora began dating Isaac Marshall (Danny Glover) and Kitty worked with Robert McCallister as part of his presidential campaign and also on their marriage plans. Justin was called back to the military, serving in Iraq, but returned home injured, causing Nora and Rebecca to act as nursemaids. At the end of the season, Rebecca learned that an old “friend” of her mother, David,(Ken Olin) was actually her birth father. This truth was quickly learned by Sarah and Kevin, who sat Nora down to tell her the truth with one other revelation, William had an affair with a former colleague and there really was another Walker child out there.

With the return of the series in 2008 for its third season, we saw Sarah and Kevin looking for Ryan Lafferty (Luke Grimes), who they believed was their actual half-brother, but it was Nora who actually went to the young man with the truth. Ryan became an unwilling part of the family and ended up working for Ojai Foods, which was also where Holly and her daughter Rebecca work now. Justin and Rebecca began a tenuous romantic relationship, adjusting from thinking they were family while Robert and Kitty, now married, hit roadblocks of their own by not being able to have children together. They decided to adopt, but that process is fraught with disaster, although it did lead them to adopting an African American child. Rather than drawing them together, the demands of parenthood, Robert’s hidden decision to run for governor (after a failed presidential bid) and an “almost” affair by Kitty, their entire relationship was on its last legs.

Meanwhile, Nora decided to start a non-profit center for families of those with illnesses and became involved with her architect Roger (Nigel Havers) – her relationship with Isacc was short-lived and he returned to Washington DC in the previous season. Kevin lost his job at the law firm and rather begrudgingly accepted Kitty’s old position on Robert’s political staff.

By the end of the season, Sarah has helped a new internet company “Greenatopia” make it big and then returned to Ojai Foods, having to work with family enemy Holly. Tommy attempted to take Holly down by making an illegal transaction that backfired on him instead of her, which caused him to leave the country. Rebecca and Justin get engaged, Justin decided to go to medical school while Kitty and Robert faced a major crisis in their marriage.

What can we expect for season 4? An engagement party is planned for Rebecca and Justin by their moms, Nora and Holly; Kitty has a secret that will shock the family; Tommy is expected to continue his “spiritual” journey in Mexico; Sarah looks for new prospects for Ojai Foods and Kevin and Scotty look into adopting a child.

Mark your calendar for the shows return at 10 PM on Sunday, September 27 on ABC.