He has dabbled in various careers, including being a soldier in Vietnam, having graduated from West Point in the class of 1962 (although in the season two episode "A House Divided" he is shown telling his grandson Max about going into basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, which would imply he was enlisted; also, he would have been 19 or 20 when graduating West Point), an activist hippie, an aspiring actor, and a shrewd entrepreneur, but none lasted more than a few years.
Adam Braverman (Peter Krause), age 40 at the beginning of the series, is Kristina's husband and the father of Max, Haddie, and Nora.
After being unemployed and unable to find a new job, Adam goes into the music business with his brother Crosby, and together they open a recording studio called "The Luncheonette", formerly a working diner.
In season 6, when The Luncheonette business is slow, Adam takes time to teach the "culinary arts" class at Chambers Academy, the school Kristina starts.
After receiving an offer to re-enter the corporate world, Adam finds his passion in running Chambers Academy after Kristina begins working on opening more schools.
Official material from NBC characterises her as a "wise and quietly forceful woman who loves her husband and children deeply and with incredible strength.
They become romantically involved, but her parents object to their relationship because they feel Alex is too mature for her, with too many "grown-up" problems (he is a recovering alcoholic who left an abusive home and lives alone).
The conflict is eventually resolved when Haddie returns home, and Adam and Kristina grant her permission to continue seeing her boyfriend.
To prevent her from worrying, Haddie's parents tell her the cancer is benign and send her back to Cornell to live her dream college experience.
Max is unaware of his diagnosis in the early episodes (although he is enthusiastic about participating in a "Walk for Autism"), but during the second season he learns about it after witnessing an argument between Adam and Crosby.
In the fourth season, he is elected class president of Cedar Knoll Middle School with some help from his older sister Haddie.
In response, Kristina creates a charter school, Chambers Academy, for students with learning difficulties who do not respond to general or special education settings.
At the show's beginning, it is established that she had previously worked as a bartender for over ten years and as a graphic artist for local bands, including her ex-husband's.
She is divorced from her rocker husband Seth (John Corbett), who appears to have been a very poor father figure to their children due to his drug use, alcoholism, and touring schedule.
In season 4, episode 10, "Trouble in Candyland", Mark breaks up with Sarah because of her habit of running away from things that make her feel good about herself.
Sarah left Seth due to his chronic problems with drugs and alcohol, and she constantly had to lie to her children regarding his long absences, saying he was away on tour.
Amber Holt (Mae Whitman), age 16 at the beginning of the series, is Sarah's rebellious, willful, and not very studious daughter who is seeking direction in life.
Toward the end of the second season, despite receiving a 2250 on her SATs and having a successful interview with a Berkeley alumna, Amber learns that she has been rejected from both colleges she applied to and has to decide what to do with her life.
Following a path of drinking and drug abuse with her new friend, Gary (a coworker at Julia's law firm, where Amber briefly worked), the couple is violently T-boned by an SUV.
However, after a heated argument about his drinking habits and poor decision-making, Amber breaks up with Ryan because he reminds her too much of her own father, who abandoned her family prior to the series.
Ryan becomes upset when he feels as though a member of the band that the Luncheonette is recording is flirting with Amber, and when he picks her up from a bar, he gets into a fight with one of the guys, leading to his being arrested.
The band decides not to press charges, but Amber is not sure where their relationship stands, especially after Crosby and Adam ask that Ryan not come around the Luncheonette for a while.
However, she exhibits a strong want to raise the child on her own without his help (especially after talking with Drew, who drove her to Wyoming so she could give the news to Ryan and refused to leave her there).
After an undisclosed amount of time, Amber is now married to a man with whom he has a young daughter, while Ryan remains a part of his son's life.
Drew's high school girlfriend, Amy, shows up at his dorm room door, and stays for a few weeks, admitting that she hates Tufts and is having a hard time.
Julia Braverman-Graham (Erika Christensen) is Sydney and Victor's mother, Joel's wife, and Zeek and Camille's fourth and youngest child and second daughter.
[10] In season 5, Joel moves into his own apartment because he can't cope with her emotional affair with Ed, a parent Julia volunteers with at the school, which leads to him kissing her.
In the sixth season, she is accused of "bullying" at school (likely due to the uncertainty of whether or not her parents will get back together), has a generally bad attitude, and gives an insincere apology to the girl she allegedly excludes.
Victor begins to warm up to them in the fourth season, by joining a baseball team and playing catch with Joel, as well as baking cookies with Julia.
When the show opens, his longtime girlfriend, Katie, is pressuring him to settle down and start a family, an idea he is resistant to as he enjoys his freewheeling bachelor lifestyle.