Some of you may already be aware of this but I just saw it this morning.  It is a new “comedy” series slated to begin this Fall on CBS, called “The Unicorn.”   Below is a description and link to the trailer:

The Unicorn - CBS (Premiere Sept 26, 2019)

"A tight-knit group of friends and family band together to help Wade embrace his new normal in the wake of the loss of his wife a year earlier. As a sometimes ill-equipped but always devoted single parent to his two adolescent daughters, he is taking the major step of dating again. To Wade's amazement, he's a hot commodity with women, and his friends explain that he's the perfect single guy: employed, attractive and with a proven track record of commitment. With his daughters and best friends rooting him on and hoping he'll find happiness, Wade and his healing heart are ready to try life and love again."

https://www.home.cbssi.com/details/14088/#watch

I think this is a PERFECT time to weigh in and CHANGE the perception of dating/getting involved with someone with kids.  Particularly a man who has two pre-teen daughters!   If you watch the trailer, it is obvious the writers are basing this series on a bunch of inaccurate stereotypes about how “hot” a “single” man with children is.  The premise is that all the “hot” women are falling all over themselves to date this man, and take on his two darling daughters. 

Perhaps CBS should be educated that this kind of environment is not “comedy” – and in fact, is often tragedy for those of us who actually have to live this day-to-day.   

I especially like the scenes in the trailer where the family dog(s) is allowed to lay on the countertops and kitchen table.  And how they decide to eat brownies for dinner.  Yep, I can imagine a woman who comes into that situation with Disney Dad and tries to change it!

What do you say – should we give the producers a hint of what REAL life is like, with a man with kids?  The selfless choices stepmoms must make, the incredible hurts we experience, the financial sacrifices we make?   How we walk  into these relationships (honestly ignorant) of how incredibly difficult and heartbreaking it can be? 

Here is an opportunity to educate people what life is really like dating/marrying a man with children.  I think there are many of you here on Steptalk who can provide CBS a synopsis of YOUR personal experience of what it is like.  I fully intend to contact the leadership at CBS and let them know that this series will do nothing to help the challenging stepfamily situations of MILLIONS of people, and in fact, will only continue to fuel erroneous stereotypes of how blissful a relationship with a person (especially a Disney Dad) with children can be. 

In particular, it’s time stepmoms are heard.  It’s time we change the story.  It’s time we see ourselves TRULY reflected in popular culture and slam the door on the blanket stereotype of being “evil” stepmothers.  This has been going on for centuries now, and it’s time to start getting the truth out there.

Maybe as an equal time measure, CBS should begin a series from stepparents’ perspective called, “The Dodo” – about a soon-to-be-extinct defenseless, flightless bird (man/woman) who is abused, attacked and eaten by stepkids.   They need go no further than right here on StepTalk to read the incredible stories of abuse.   

What do you say?  Should we storm CBS with info about stories of our reality?  If you do, here are a few e-mail addresses at CBS you can start with:

dlmcclintock@cbs.com

Anthony.diclemente@cbs.com

rwien@cbs.com

kelli.raferty@cbs.com

I know I am going to be dropping them a note!