‘Trying’ to Make A Standout Show About Adoption

Season four of Trying, a U.K. comedy about a married couple and their adopted children, debuts on Apple TV Plus May 22. Esther Smith plays Nikki and Rafe Spall portrays Jason.

The season begins six years after season three ended. Their daughter Princess (Scarlett Rayner) is a teen, and son Tyler (Cooper Turner) is 11. Princess is eager to locate her birth mother, which causes some anxiety in Nikki and Jason.

There are eight episodes.

Asked about their highlights of the new season, Spall said welcoming esteemed actor Jim Broadbent to the cast. His work includes Game of Thrones, Time Bandits, Gangs of New York and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He plays a man who set up a blind date with grandmother Bev, before she died.

“He’s a real acting hero of mine and we were really touched and gratified that an Oscar winner would come and do our show,” Spall told B+C.

Smith mentioned a hearty argument between Nikki and her sister Karen (Siân Brooke). “It’s always a good feeling to have a bit of a row,” she said.

Six years into the future, season four sees Nikki and Rafe in a different place than they were last season. “Nikki is quite a romantic,” said Smith, noting “the loss of who they once were with each other and trying to maintain that.”

She said Nikki is also a worrier: “She worries where that’s gonna lead.”

Smith and Spall agreed the couple’s relationship is based on humor, and “that’s what gets them through,” she said.

Trying  is created, written and executive produced by Andy Wolton and executive produced by Josh Cole, Sam Pinnell and Chris Sussman. The series is produced by BBC Studios.

Spall, the father of three, said the show reminds him of “how lucky I am to be a parent.”

It also gave him a new level of respect for parents who adopt. “Looking into that world and seeing how involved and how onerous a process that can be,” he said, “it’s given me a huge amount of respect for people who do that.”

Spall said the show is a reminder that “families come about in myriad ways, and family means different things to different people, none more or less valid than the other.”

He added, “This family is gorgeous and real in its own way.”

What else do the actors hope the viewer takes away? “There’s always hope in terrible times,” said Smith. “There’s always a bit of light.”