Dax Shepard Shares Favorite “Parenthood” Memory

Dax Shepard is taking a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about his time on Parenthood and sharing some behind-the-scenes stories. On the March 10 episode of his Armchair Expert podcast, the 50-year-old actor chatted with former co-star Lauren Graham about their days on the beloved NBC drama.

One memory that stood out? The endless back-and-forth over crew gifts. “There were 13 cast members, and we bought the gift,” Dax recalled. 

“You know, we would cumulatively chip in on whatever we were getting the crew and the amount of emails that would go back and forth to decide whether we’re getting this mug or this  f—ing [gift] …it was impossible,” he added.

Dax also opened up about something he used to do on every job — finding out what everyone else was making. “I’d always figure it out,” he said. “I’d either get in a conversation where I’d get it out of them, or I’d back channel through an agent.” 

But when the actor joined Parenthood, he decided to break that habit. “I went into Parenthood going, ‘I’m purposely gonna not find out,’ and I was so happy on the show.”

Looking back, he realizes that choice made a big difference. “That was the first time I ever broke that habit,” he said. “Boy, was it a blessing.” He even joked that if he had found out Tyree Brown, who played Jabbar, was making twice as much as him, it would have ruined his time on set. “I was like, ‘If I find out Jabbar’s making twice as much as me, how can I enjoy going to work?’”” he teased.

The hit drama, which ran from 2010 to 2015, followed the ups and downs of an extended family dealing with love, parenting, and major life changes. In addition to Dax and Lauren, the star-studded cast included Peter Krause, Mae Whitman, Craig T. Nelson, Monica Potter, and more.

As much as Dax has stepped away from acting, Parenthood still holds a special place in his heart. “I don’t desire to act at all,” he admitted, “but I deeply miss being on Parenthood. And there is a version of that show I would probably do f it were eight episodes or 10 episodes, I could manage my now real job.”

Fans hoping for a reboot may have reason to be excited. In 2023, series creator Jason Katims told PEOPLE that revisiting Parenthood could be a real possibility. “I never think about it,” he admitted, “but when anybody asks me, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, I would like to do that.'”

He added that enough time has passed to make a revival interesting. “It’s almost a generation later,” he said, “and watching these people, watching the characters we saw in one generation, a generation later. That would be interesting.”

However, while the idea sounds great, there are no official plans yet.