Jack & Bobby

Premise

Set in a small Missouri college town, the show centers on Jack and Bobby McCallister, ages fifteen and thirteen, raised by their unconventional mother Grace, a history professor who bans TV. Jack is a popular track star, while Bobby is a nerdy asthmatic. Each episode cuts to future documentary footage about a President McCallister taking office in the 2040s, with administration members discussing how his youth shaped his presidency. Which brother becomes president is kept secret until the pilot's end.

Development

The idea was conceived by novelist Brad Meltzer and Steve Cohen, the latter having served as deputy communications director in Hillary Clinton's office during her husband's presidency. In 2002, they pitched it to Thomas Schlamme, then an executive producer on The West Wing. The WB agreed to produce the series, and Schlamme brought on Greg Berlanti and Vanessa Taylor to write the pilot. Taylor said her writing was informed by her feelings about the Iraq War and the failed search for weapons of mass destruction, stating, 'I just feel that we've come into an era in which there's a certain brazenness about lying to the American public.

Which, in turn, has fostered a certain degree of cynicism and apathy. The title was meant to evoke the hopefulness of the Camelot era. Berlanti intended to avoid the words 'Democrat' and 'Republican' in the pilot to avoid partisan criticism, and emphasized that the show's focus on formative years underscores how seemingly insignificant events can have exponential ripple effects on the future. The WB ordered 13 episodes prior to mid-May 2004, making it the first show picked up for the 2004 fall season, as part of an attempt to cultivate older audiences.

Reception

The show was acclaimed by multiple critics and outlets. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a rating of 88% based on 16 critical reviews. Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called it 'undoubtedly the most grown-up series' aired by The WB and described it as 'an absorbing drama with hints of the idealism found in early seasons of The West Wing.' Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times wrote that its historical framing sets it apart, noting it is 'cynical about television but deeply romantic about politics and public service,' and praised Christine Lahti's performance as Grace, a 'complicated, strong woman who is sympathetic without being quite likable.'

Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly gave the show a grade of A−, stating it reflects the American obsession with picking apart childhoods for clues to adulthood. Nancy Franklin of The New Yorker likened it to a mix of The Wonder Years and The West Wing, concluding it is most emotionally effective when lines between Bobby's boyhood and adulthood meander through unexpected oxbows. James Poniewozik of Time found the documentary flash-forwards distracting but called it 'a smart, well-written show that constantly subverts our expectations.'

A plot line about the boys' father being 'just a Mexican dishwasher' received criticism from the Los Angeles Times and was described by The New Yorker as implausibly convenient.