The Cleveland Show

About the series

Contains story spoilers.

Cleveland Brown leaves Quahog after his divorce and returns to Stoolbend, Virginia, where Donna, his high-school sweetheart, gives him a chance to join her household. His son Cleveland Jr. moves with him; Roberta and Rallo are already Donna's children. The Fox animated series, co-created by Seth MacFarlane, Rich Appel and Mike Henry, builds its stories around this blended family and the people in its neighborhood. Cleveland's return gives him a home and familiar ties, but also puts his hopes about being a husband and father into daily contact with the needs and choices of people who have their own histories.

In "A Brown Thanksgiving," Cleveland's parents, Cookie and Freight Train, arrive for his first holiday with Donna's family. The visit quickly exposes how little has been settled between Cleveland and his father: their poor relationship nearly turns into a fight. Donna's Auntie Momma arrives and changes the mood when Freight Train becomes infatuated with her. Later, Cleveland discovers a secret about Auntie Momma that Freight Train has not realised. The holiday's absurd turn does not erase the earlier tension; Cleveland still has to host his father and his new family in the same house. The story makes the reunion awkward in a way that belongs to this particular family, with a new marriage bringing old parent-child resentments back into view.

Cleveland's school memories cause a different kind of trouble in "Field of Streams." When he visits his alma mater, he learns the high-school baseball team no longer exists because he and his friends insulted Wally when they were teenagers. Now Principal Wally gives Cleveland a week to raise money before the season starts. A donation from Mr. Waterman helps him restore the stadium and organise a team in time. Cleveland becomes its coach and hopes to recruit his son, but Cleveland Jr. prefers the math club and proves poorly suited to baseball; during a play, he even stops to protect a ladybug. Cleveland's plan to share his past with his son therefore runs into Junior's different interests, while Cleveland also has to repair a school situation he helped create.

In "A Cleveland Brown Christmas," Rallo believes his absent father Robert works for the FBI, a story Donna has helped maintain. Cleveland discovers the deception, then accidentally exposes it while drunk and dressed as Santa at an office party. Donna admits that even the letters supposedly sent from Russia were hers. Rallo feels betrayed and takes his anger out on Santa and Christmas, including a model-train display. Cleveland eventually recognises that a present cannot repair the missing relationship: he finds Robert and urges him to visit his son. Robert does arrive, apologises for the FBI story, and briefly seems ready to tell the truth. Instead, he claims to be the real Santa Claus and uses the North Pole as another excuse for his absence. Rallo happily accepts the replacement story. Cleveland has achieved a reunion, but the adults have hardly broken their habit of protecting it with lies.

Rallo's relationship with an older friend drives "Murray Christmas." His teacher requires him to spend a weekend at a retirement home, where he meets Murray, who introduces him to Hanukkah. Wanting to bring back Murray's holiday spirit, Rallo helps him escape. When Murray's health starts to deteriorate, the boy has to take him back to the home. The sequence turns Rallo's impulsive plan into a difficult choice: he can care about Murray's feelings, but he cannot ignore what the older man's health requires. Meanwhile, Cleveland trains for a boxing match against his own father, Freight Train, and their bout leaves both of them bruised. The episode places a son's friendship beside a father's unresolved conflict, showing two generations trying to manage relationships that do not fit neatly into a holiday occasion.

In "Little Man on Campus," Cleveland's pursuit of a high-school state baseball title leads him to cheat after his star pitcher is injured. He disguises his friend Holt as a student and tries to keep Tim from discovering the scheme because Tim wants his own son Raymond to play. Cleveland Jr. learns about the secret while struggling to pass wood shop; he copies Ernie's name onto his project, and Ernie receives the failing grade. Cleveland sees the connection between his own conduct and his son's choice. He responds by removing Holt from the team. Cleveland's attempt to model success through rule-breaking reaches his son and damages someone else at school.

"The Hurricane" brings the family together during a storm that cancels their cruise plans. Cleveland has thrown out the food in the refrigerator, so the family becomes hungry and argues over the empty pantry. When they gather to pray for protection, Cleveland Jr. refuses and says he does not believe in God. He explains that his doubts began after hearing that his mother was forgiven for her affair, and he resists the family's attempts to persuade him. Later, when Cleveland is trapped under a fallen tree, Junior builds a device that helps move it. The others take the rescue as an answer to prayer, but Junior credits what he learned in school and keeps his position. The practical emergency resolves, while the disagreement about faith does not.