John Corbett Has a New Gig, Probably as Aidan

by Liz Colville

My guess is that John Corbett’s upcoming character on Parenthood, of a shadowy ex-husband and baby daddy to Lauren Graham’s character, is going to be mild-mannered and sweet and subtly, almost stonedly grinning all the time, except when he is made to be sad, despite also being a “recovering alcoholic-musician” (nice compound career description by Deadline). Corbett has not exactly been away; he’s been playing the husband on The United States of Tara, and then he appeared As Himself, as it were, this past summer in Sex and the City 2. But let’s take this opportunity to ask: whither John/Aidan? Who he be?

Personally, when Aidan first came into my life there were zaheeero men in it; he was as harmless as a spare pillow and slightly more attractive. Eventually I gave him up for someone more mysterious and aloof, as the show directed me to. But who is this man to the TV-watching girls and women of today, besides someone to name their kids after? Will he forever serve the same exact comforting function, like the dad in Everwood (ewww, Liz…), or if you’re feeling up for it, feeling Stronger Than Yesterday, David Duchovny in Californication? And if so, does he mind?