The Fosters is an American family drama television series created by Peter Paige and Bradley Bredeweg. It premiered in the United States on June 3, 2013, on the ABC Family (later Freeform) television network and concluded on June 6, 2018. It follows the lives of the Adams-Foster family led by a lesbian couple, Stef Foster, a police officer, and Lena Adams, a school vice principal, who raise one biological son and four adopted teenagers in San Diego, California.
The first season received generally favorable reviews and particular acclaim for its portrayal of LGBT themes. It also earned two GLAAD Media Awards and one Teen Choice Award.
On January 3, 2018, Freeform announced that The Fosters would end after five seasons. It concluded with a three-episode finale, which also acted as an introduction to Good Trouble, the spin-off series starring Maia Mitchell and Cierra Ramirez.
Plot This five season series follows the lives of the Adams Foster family who live in San Diego. The matriarchal heads of this family are police officer Stef Foster and her life partner Lena Adams, a school vice principal. Their multiethnic, blended family includes Brandon, Stef's biological son from her previous marriage, and twins Jesus and Mariana, who were adopted as children. The series begins when the couple take in two foster children, siblings Callie and Jude Jacobs, whom they later adopt. The five children have rough times navigating adolescence because of poor life choices.
Also part of their lives is Mike Foster, Stef's patrol partner and ex-husband, and Brandon's biological father.
Most of the show takes place at the family's craftsman-style home in the quiet San Diego suburb of Mission Bay and at Anchor Beach Community Charter School.
Episodes
Characters
Main Stef Adams Foster (Teri Polo) is Lena's wife, Brandon's biological mother, and the adoptive mother to twins Jesus and Mariana. In the pilot episode, she and Lena also foster Callie Jacob, and later her younger maternal half-brother Jude, whom they will subsequently adopt. Stef is a police officer for the San Diego Police Department, where she works as a patrol partner with Brandon's biological father and her ex-husband, Mike. She is known for having a strong personality with bold opinions but can also be loving and motherly. When Jesus goes missing one night, Mariana informs her parents how she fears Jesus is at their biological mother Ana's house since they recently got in contact and have been lending her money. Stef and Mike go to rescue Jesus only to discover that he is not there, and Ana's boyfriend, an abusive drug addict, shoots Stef, who is severely wounded before making a full recovery. Later, she officially marries Lena, and after having a mammogram, Stef receives a diagnosis of intraductal carcinoma. Because it is likely that the cells will become cancerous, she undergoes surgery. Lena Adams Foster (Sherri Saum) is Stef's wife, step-mother to Brandon, and adoptive mother to Jesus and Mariana. In the pilot episode, she and Lena also foster Callie Jacob, and later her younger maternal half-brother Jude, whom they will subsequently adopt. Lena is the vice principal of Anchor Beach Community Charter School, the high school her children attend. She tends to be more open and reasonable, oftentimes when it comes to the children's wrongdoings but can be stern as well. She and Stef legally marry, and the discussion of Lena carrying her first child arises. Lena interviews for a promotion at work and reveals she is pregnant, leading the panel to question her ability to balance work and home. She later develops Pre-eclampsia, which leads to a miscarriage. Callie Adams Foster (formerly Callie Quinn Jacob) (Maia Mitchell) is the adoptive daughter of Stef and Lena, adoptive sister to Brandon, Mariana, and Jesus, and maternal half-sister to Jude. In the pilot episode, the court places Callie in the Adams Foster home after serving time in juvenile detention for damaging her abusive foster father's property. Later, with Brandon's help, she goes to get her younger half-brother Jude (then believed to be her brother), who is still in the abusive foster home. Callie quickly develops a crush on Brandon before Jude becomes furious at her after seeing them kiss at Stef and Lena's wedding. Fearing the court will place her back into foster care, Callie attempts to run away, where she ends up eating food at a gas station without paying. This leads her into a temporary group home to counsel her actions and keep her away from Brandon. As time passes, Callie and Brandon hold back their feelings for each other. Callie's adoption is initially put on hold after the discovery that she and Jude do not share the same birth father. Later, Robert Quinn, who reveals himself to be Callie's birth father, approaches Callie. Robert introduces her to his family, and she quickly bonds with his daughter, Sophia. After Robert feels ready to turn over his paternal rights, Sophia tears up the paperwork, hoping Callie feels the same way about their newfound sibling bond, which appears to be the exact opposite. Stef and Lena officially adopt her following a prolonged battle with the justice system and a passionate speech to the judge. Mariana Adams Foster (Cierra Ramirez) is Stef and Lena's adoptive daughter, Jesus' twin sister, younger adoptive sister to Brandon and Callie, and Jude's older adoptive sister. Mariana is an intelligent teenage girl who likes to involve herself in whatever she finds enjoyable, particularly when she is social with her friends and gossips at school. She is also very proficient at coding and mathematics. Like many teenage girls, Mariana struggles with her self-confidence, heritage, and appearance, as seen when she dyes her hair blond to fit in. She dances, acts, sings, and eventually forms her own dance team before becoming the lead actress in Brandon's senior project musical. Mariana initially supports her birth mother financially by selling Jesus' ADHD medication at school. Jesus confronts their birth mom to no longer contact Mariana, only to also rope in Brandon, which causes him financial and physical harm, for which she is apologetic. Later, Mariana hopes to change her image, joins the dance team, and takes a liking toward one of Brandon's bandmates. She is very close to Jesus, but they often tease each other. Jesus Adams Foster (Jake T. Austin in seasons 1–2, Noah Centineo in seasons 3–5) is Stef and Lena's adoptive son, twin brother to Mariana, and adoptive sibling to Brandon, Callie, and Jude. He has ADHD and joins the wrestling team in an effort to offset the negative effects of his medication through the advice of Mike. Jesus loves his twin sister, Mariana, and the pair share resentment toward their biological mother. He is a womanizer at first, having a short string of romantic relationships and sometimes charming his mothers, including when he covers up for Mariana's wrongdoings. But he is now more respectful after getting back together with Emma. Jesus feels as though he has no involvement in Mariana's quinceañera preparations but later opts to be her escort in an effort to be at their birthday celebration. In the third season, Jesus temporarily resides at a boarding school for his high school wrestling team but returns after Callie's adoption. After he admits to his parents that he was taking steroids while away at boarding school, Stef and Lena no longer allow Jesus to participate on the wrestling team at Anchor Beach. Jesus later suffers a TBI after accidentally shooting himself in the head with a nail gun, which affects his personality and his academic performance. Jude Adams Foster (formerly Jude Jacob) (Hayden Byerly) is the youngest Adams Foster child, he is Callie's half brother, and he is also Brandon, Jesus, and Mariana's adoptive sibling. Callie rescues Jude from their abusive foster father's house. As Jude settles into his new home, Mariana paints his nails blue and Callie tells him to wash it off but then learns to accept Jude's choices. At school, he quickly becomes friends with a kind-hearted boy, Connor, and as their friendship grows, Jude begins questioning his sexual orientation. When Connor's father suspects Jude's feelings, he forbids the boys from seeing each other outside of school. Jude slips into a phase of selective mutism, a social anxiety disorder where he does not speak entirely for a certain extent of time in fear of embarrassment, only to finally open up to Callie about his feelings. Jude and Connor kiss and begin dating, but Jude refuses to label himself as gay. After seeing how badly this affects Connor at an LGBTQ dance in season 3, he comes out as gay. At the end of the first season, Stef and Lena legally adopt Jude. Following Callie's own adoption, Jude admits he is in love with Connor, who returns the sentiment. After Connor moves to Los Angeles to live with his mom and because their long-distance relationship does not work out very well, they break up, and he later dates a new friend, Noah. Jude finally graduates from ABCC and gets into the College of Arts and Letters, UCLA. He and Noah maintain their relationship throughout their high school years, but break up when Noah goes to university, although they remain good friends. Brandon Foster (David Lambert) is the eldest Foster child, biological son of Stef and Mike, and older adoptive brother to Jesus and Mariana, as well as to Callie and Jude. Brandon has an infatuation for Callie but after his biological mother and father place a restraining order against him, and despite he and Callie having sex the night before her adoption, they later resist further temptations to proceed with their relationship. Brandon also has a talent for music, excelling in piano, and is on the verge of entering a highly distinguished music program. After raising money to obtain fake IDs to get into a bar (as he is legally underage), Brandon is beat up by his dealer. Following his subsequent hospitalization, Brandon loses sensation in his hand, causing him to miss his spot in the music program. Still able to play the piano, he joins a band. In the third season, Brandon goes to the Idylwild band camp and competes to play at Disney Hall, where he wins the competition. During his senior year of high school, he receives an acceptance letter into The Juilliard School, his top choice in colleges and among the most prestigious in music and the arts. Later, however, Brandon is academically dismissed from ever attending college as a student discloses bribing Brandon to take his scholastic assessment test. Mike Foster (Danny Nucci) is Stef's patrol partner and ex-husband as well as Brandon's father. He makes a number of appearances in the Adams Foster home, especially when it involves seeing Brandon. When searching for Jesus in the twins' birth mother's home, Mike witnesses Ana's boyfriend shooting Stef and, in turn, Mike fires at the shooter. Mike hadn't noticed the shooter dropped the gun and still shot him, which Stef witnessed, forcing her to hide the truth to protect Mike. He later learns that the money he gives his son for piano lessons is used to bribe Ana to lie in court so Mike does not lose his job. This only complicates the issue as the court abruptly determines that Mike is not guilty before Ana even has the chance to testify. Mike is also a recovering alcoholic, attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and retains a live-in girlfriend, Dani, who helps maintain his sobriety. The pair break up when she is sent to prison for statutory rape with an already sober Brandon. Mike and Ana soon begin a romantic relationship and get engaged in season 5 and the two got married during the time jump; he also becomes the step-father of Bella. Mike was also the foster father to AJ Hensdale.
Recurring