Parenthood renewed for fourth season

AUSTIN (KXAN) - NBC has renewed Parenthood for a fourth season, giving a reprieve to the family drama that has won kudos from the critics but often struggled in the ratings.

Members of the cast were at the ATX Television Festival on Sunday. The last time we saw the Bravermans was the third season finale in February, where star-crossed lovers Crosby and Jasmine, who share a son together, finally married in a so-called "small backyard wedding."

The series, which premiered in in 2010, is loosely based on the 1989 comedy Parenthood. It is the second adaptation of the movie, more drama than comedy, and features Jason Ritter, Dax Shepherd, Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Monica Potter and Craig T Nelson.

"It's been such a wonderful time," said Jason Ritter, who plays Mark. "The people are all so great and it's really nice to have a festival that's dedicated to all the hard work that people do all year for TV. I feel like sometimes TV gets sort of taken for granted. It's a year long job for a lot of people so it's nice to have a place where people are saying: We appreciate it."

Ritter praised Austin, saying it was "a city tough to beat." He said he had no idea what was ahead for the fourth season of Parenthood this fall.

"I don't know anything about what's coming up for me on the show, but I do know that I am going to come back to the show, so I'm happy about that," Ritter said. "The writers are all so incredibly talented that I'm sure they'll come up with something amazing."