Private Practice “Apron Strings” (2012) – Adoption on the Small Screen
Release Date: 02/25/2026
Wuthering Heights (2026) – Adoption on the Big Screen
Adoption Pop!
E021 | Wuthering Heights (2026) – Adoption on the Big Screen We went deep into the canon for this one, dusting off and stitching together a whole undergraduate English literature syllabus (with Cliffs Notes, Sparks Notes, note cards, and whatever else we were using to make it through our book reports pre-Chat GPT) to bring you our take on Emily Brontë’s 1847 gothic romance classic, Wuthering Heights. Whether you’re pro the most recent Emerald Fennell blockbuster, or prefer to stick closer to the original text, you won’t be disappointed by hot and steamy (and cringey)...
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The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012) – Adoption on the Big Screen
Adoption Pop!
E020 | The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012) – Adoption on the Big Screen April showers bring May flowers or, in the wonderful world of Disney, they bring you a whole child. The Odd Life of Timothy Green follows young Timothy Green, a boy who appears to have been born from the garden of Jim and Cindy, played by Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner, a couple grieving their inability to have a child. Podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer have a lot to say about this one, on this episode of Adoption Pop! The story The Odd Life of Timothy...
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Friends “The One With the Donor” (2003) – Adoption on the Small Screen
Adoption Pop!
E019 | Friends “The One With the Donor” (2003) – Adoption on the Small Screen Adoption Pop! has done sitcoms before, but this is perhaps the mother of all sitcoms: Friends, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004, and ushered into the mainstream a hairstyle, a pick-up line, and the idea that your friends could be your family. More than 50 million people tuned in for the series finale in 2004, the one where Monica and Chandler adopt, but their journey had to start somewhere—why not start with John Stamos sperm donor? Podcast journalist...
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Family Ties “Baby Boy Doe” (1984) – Adoption on the Small Screen
Adoption Pop!
E018 | Family Ties “Baby Boy Doe” (1984) – Adoption on the Small Screen We have Pop! Star Judi to thank for taking us on this journey to a time when adoption jokes got the studio audience roaring, lying to kids passed for good parenting, and one real mother was all that anyone was allowed. No, we’re not talking about 2025; we’re talking about 1984! Join podcast journalist, Haley Radke, filmmaker, Kristal Parke, and cultural critic, Sullivan Summer, for this nostalgic romp back in time to one of the most popular family sit coms of the 1980s. What would we do, baby, without us?...
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Adopted (2009) – Adoption on the Small Screen
Adoption Pop!
E017 | Adopted (2009) – Adoption on the Small Screen Why would we spend an hour talking about a film that went straight-to-video, has a 31% on the Popcornmeter, and not enough critical reviews to have received a Rotten Tomatoes score? Because that film is about adoption, of course! Join podcast journalist, Haley Radke, filmmaker, Kristal Parke, and cultural critic, Sullivan Summer, as we celebrate the Pauly Shore mockumentary, Adopted. (Yeah, we didn’t have “celebrate Pauly Shore” on our Adoption Pop! Bingo card either). Adopted was written and directed...
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The Truman Show (1998) – Adoption on the Big Screen
Adoption Pop!
E016 | The Truman Show (1998) – Adoption on the Big Screen Long before we all had front-facing screens in our pockets—even before it would have occurred to us to use the term “front-facing screen”—there was somebody born to be on camera: Truman Burbank. The first baby to have been legally adopted by a corporation, Truman and his namesake show were watched, loved, and protected by millions of fans around the world—right up until he started to question that world’s reality. Join podcast journalist, Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic, Sullivan Summer as...
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Philomena (2013) – Adoption on the Big Screen
Adoption Pop!
E015 | Philomena (2013) – Adoption on the Big Screen A young woman shamed, banished, and indentured—yet faith survives for Philomena Lee who, after 50 years of separation, embarks upon a search for the son she was forced to relinquish inside one of Ireland’s notorious mother and baby homes. Podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer take on Philomena, adapted from journalist Martin Sixsmith’s The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, and starring Judi Dench as the title character in a film that had our Irish eyes weeping, all 29-30% of...
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Song Sung Blue (2025) – Adoption on the Big Screen
Adoption Pop!
E014 | Song Sung Blue (2025) – Adoption on the Big Screen Did you ever read about a frog who dreamed of bein’ a king, and then became one? Well, except for the names, and a few other changes, you’ve got the Hollywood adaptation of a little-known documentary profile of the Milwaukee Neil Diamond tribute act known as “Lightning and Thunder.” Song Sung Blue hit theaters on Christmas Day in 2025, garnering generally favorable reviews, and a slew of Best Actress nominations for Kate Hudson for her melodic portrayal of Claire “Thunder” Sardina, a woman who battles back to the stage...
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Task (2025) – Adoption on the Small Screen
Adoption Pop!
E013 | Task (2025) – Adoption on the Small Screen Season 1 of HBO’s Task centers former priest, alcoholic, adoptive father, FBI agent, Tom Brandis (played by Mark Ruffalo), who heads up a task force of dubiously-selected young agents as they hunt down a pair of guys robbing violent motorcycle gang-owned stash houses. As melodramatic as the plotline may be, the series quickly became a Pop! favorite for its truthful portrayal of the complexities in adoption. Thank you to Pop! Star Candace for the recommendation. Task was created by Brad Ingelsby. This episode of...
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Private Practice “Apron Strings” (2012) – Adoption on the Small Screen
Adoption Pop!
E012 | Private Practice “Apron Strings” (2012) – Adoption on the Small Screen The Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Private Practice followed OB/GYN Addison Montgomery for six seasons from 2007 until 2013, where she and a who’s who of middle-aged eye-candy treated patients at an oceanside wellness center. In a case of art imitating life, Addison, like showrunner Shonda Rhimes, adopts a baby. But when baby Henry’s mother comes back into his life after 8 months away, Addison’s humanity is tested, along with the audience’s ability to hold multiple truths at once. Private Practice...
info_outlineE012 | Private Practice “Apron Strings” (2012) – Adoption on the Small Screen
The Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Private Practice followed OB/GYN Addison Montgomery for six seasons from 2007 until 2013, where she and a who’s who of middle-aged eye-candy treated patients at an oceanside wellness center. In a case of art imitating life, Addison, like showrunner Shonda Rhimes, adopts a baby. But when baby Henry’s mother comes back into his life after 8 months away, Addison’s humanity is tested, along with the audience’s ability to hold multiple truths at once.
Private Practice “Apron Strings” aired on November 20, 2012. It was written by Gabe Fonseca, Elizabeth Klaviter, and Gabriel Llanas; and directed by Amyn Kaderali.
Thank you Pop! Stars Gretchen and Lora for this episode recommendation.
This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on February 25, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon:
In case you missed it: On Season 1 of Grey’s Anatomy, Derek Shepherd (“McDreamy”) was dating Meredith Grey. Then, in the Season 1 finale, his estranged wife Addison shows up. She meets Meredith and she says, “Hi. I’m Addison Shepherd.” (Very dramatic). Then, in Season 2 we learn Addison had an extramarital affair with Derek’s best friend, Mark Sloan (“McSteamy”), who also comes to work with them at the hospital. There will be a Pop! quiz later.
Actor Benjamin Bratt played Detective Rey Curtis on Law & Order Seasons 6-9. If Sullivan had a hall pass…
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) prioritizes keeping native children within their tribes and communities, over placement with non-native families.
“Shonda Rhimes: Women Need to Brag More,” Call Her Daddy podcast (October 8, 2025)
“Oprah Talks to Shonda Rhimes,” O Magazine (December 2006)
Rickie Solinger, Wake Up Little Suzy: Single Pregnancy and Race Before Roe v. Wade, 2nd edition (2000)
Ann Fessler, The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade (2007)
Gretchen Sisson, Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood (2024)
The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen.
We’d love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you’d like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.
Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com, on Instagram, and on Substack.
Pop! quiz: Which Adoption Pop! cohost is the funniest? (a) Sullivan (b) Sullivan (c) Sullivan (d) Sullivan