Good Trouble Boss Talks Bringing Back [Spoiler] for The Fosters Closure
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Wednesday’s Good Trouble. Proceed at your own risk!
Good Trouble‘s goodbye bash for Brandon and Eliza was a big Fosters family affair, with one very unexpected person on the guest list: Jude’s first boyfriend Connor (played by Gavin MacIntosh), who was last seen during a 2016 episode of The Fosters.
Jude was stunned to spot his ex working as a server at the party, and of course, their reunion took place in front of his current boyfriend, Carter. Jude and Connor apologized to each other for the abrupt way their relationship ended and agreed to be friends… after which they kissed! Carter, who was contemplating transferring schools to L.A., spotted the smooch and broke down in his father’s arms, coming out in the process to his conservative dad. Jude later revealed to Carter that the kiss was a goodbye one and that he wants to be exclusive with him, even though he thinks they should stay at their respective universities to have their own college experiences.
Below, executive producer Joanna Johnson reveals how the unexpected return came together and who else from The Fosters might come back.
TVLINE | How did the idea come up for Connor to return in this episode?
Gavin and Hayden [Byerly] are friends. Hayden said, “It would be fun to bring Connor back at some point,” and we were all like, “Oh, my god, it would be fun!” and this seemed like the perfect episode to do it in. It’s really for the fans of The Fosters. I know there are people that have watched Good Trouble that didn’t watch The Fosters. It’s for our fans that came over to Good Trouble from The Fosters. We love giving them little Easter eggs and little moments that call back to The Fosters. Everybody loved Connor in that storyline so much. It was an iconic story. It was the youngest gay kiss ever on television. People really adored them, and so we just thought it would be a really nice thing for the fans. And it also made for a good story.
TVLINE | What was Gavin’s reaction? It’s been so long since he was in the universe of the shows.
I think he was excited. He was lovely, as always, and really game to do it. It was fun for all of us.
TVLINE | Did the storyline let you get some closure on Jude and Connor that you were maybe craving in the writers’ room?
Yeah, I think we did. We really always felt like he went up to go live with his [mother], and it broke Jude’s heart. Then Jude saw on Facebook that he’d kind of moved on with a new guy. They never really got to have that closure together after that. So it was fun to be able to give that to them and to the story.
TVLINE | Jude and Connor shared a kiss, but Jude did tell Carter that he wants to be exclusive with him. Was there any debate about how much you should revisit the Jude and Connor relationship versus Jude and Carter?
Well, you always want to try to find the conflict in stories. Otherwise, why are we watching? It really worked well with Carter’s story of wanting to transfer to be at the same college as Jude and not have to do the long distance thing. Then here comes an ex that they run into in this random way, and it makes [Carter] start to question, “Does Jude not really want me to transfer schools? Does Jude not really want me in his life at all? Is he going to dump me?” For Connor, it was like a kiss goodbye that he impulsively gives Jude. It just makes for good TV.
TVLINE | The scene between Carter and his dad was so lovely and really emotional. Can you talk about crafting that and what you wanted to convey in that moment?
It reminded me of a moment that I had with my own father. My father had not been very supportive of me necessarily being gay, and I remember calling him one time because my heart was broken by somebody, and he was so sweet. He was so nice to me and supportive in that moment. When you see your child heartbroken, these issues you might have with their sexuality or what you think they should be or shouldn’t be can just basically melt away, because you don’t want to see your child hurt, and you know what heartbreak’s like. I think it makes you realize, “Oh, a gay relationship, you’ve got the same issues and the same heartbreak as you could have in a heterosexual relationship,” and it really sort of softens you and humanizes you and makes you realize that you’re making these judgments that maybe aren’t fair. So having had that experience with my own father, I thought that would be a nice experience.
TVLINE | Obviously, this is Good Trouble, and it’s Mariana and Callie’s story. But how much of Jude and Carter are you hoping to explore as you move forward?
We love having the family come together, and with Brandon being married to Eliza, we’re always going to have excuses for our Fosters and Hunters to get together. Now that everyone is aware that their sons are dating, too, and there’s always the Callie/Jamie of it all, there’s a lot of opportunity to come together for family events or other things. We really just like keeping them alive. It’s a well we can go to, and there are a lot of fun dynamics that we’ve created along the way.
TVLINE | One of the benefits of having such a deep history with The Fosters is that you have all these characters that you can refer to and bring back. Are there any other deep callbacks that you would like to make? Any people you’d like to revisit?
We don’t have any right now. We brought Emma back for the Christmas episode, and had her and Jesus be engaged. So you never know.
TVLINE | At this point, Jesus might be the deep callback, because Noah Centineo is so busy.
I know, I know. It’s really hard. Noah’s career has exploded, and I’m so excited for him. But it’s very hard for him to find time for us right now. Hopefully, we can get him back.
Good Trouble/Fosters fans, what did you think of Connor’s return? And who would you like to see come back?
“I know there are people that have watched Good Trouble that didn’t watch The Fosters.”
Lol sure, Jan
Does anybody even watch shows on Freeform anymore? Inquiring minds want to know!
I…hated that this episode was so good, especially this storyline. Once again it showed that the wrong siblings got the spinoff…we could be having mature and healthy relationship conversations WITH drama, and instead we get Callie and Marianna?
Yeah they chose the 2 WORST siblings to get their own show. I watched the first 2 episodes of Good Trouble after watching every episode of The Fosters and couldn’t stomach it.
I love it!! But I came here cause I’m curious, Google didn’t answer my question. Where was Jesus??
A Brandon spinoff would have been the worst lol.
Mte. He’s so bland and vanilla. Jude would’ve been nice, but he’s not that much better than Brandon. The right characters got a spin-off, but it’s so annoying to see people complain about it all the time. Just don’t tune in.
I loved the episode tonight. The Fosters-Adams/Hunters get togethers are always such an exciting mess of a time. I’m so glad to see Connor and get that closure for him and Jude, and hope that there’s more episodes like these in the future!
I enjoyed the episode, but thought it was odd that there wasn’t even a mention of Jesus not being able to be there, since he was the only family member missing. Seems like there could have been at least a passing comment on what he and Emma are up to now.
Thank you! I wondered the same!
I love to see more of the Foster’s & Good trouble crossover love it👌
Wow that kid did NOT age well. Hollywood took its toll for sure.
I think they could have mentioned Jesus and Emma. The Adams-Fosters & Hunters gatherings are definitely interesting. I’m glad that Cory came and is still in the family’s lives and that they are going to foster his half sister. I loved seeing Connor again and that he and Jude finally got a proper goodbye and that Jude and Carter are together and that Carter and his dad had an loving moment. One character I’ve always wanted to see come back again is Lexi not necessary Jesus’s love interest but as Mariana’s best friend/ someone else’s or someone new love interest.
After the way Jonnor was supposed to be this big deal but then seemed to just fizzle and die, I was less enthusiastic to hear about the revised denouement of it. But if it led to that loving, supportive moment Carter had with his father, well, I certainly won’t complain about it. :-)
Gavin MacIntosh hasn’t really worked since his last “Fosters” ep and that indie movie he did, so I don’t think it’s anything to do with show-biz. Sometimes it’s just genetics.
I just checked IMDB and saw that Gavin MacIntosh was also a guest star for a string of episodes on a crime-drama on Amazon Prime back in 2017. Still, that was four years ago.
I love good trouble but it’s always great to have a fosters only episode every now and then
Absolutely. I first watched GT and loved it! Then discovered The Fosters not realizing GT was a spinoff from TF and so I’m I’m rewatching the the other and enjoying it so much more now!! Seeing the Fosters pop up which honestly I never really noticed before LOL! so much better the 2nd time around!
Sometimes the duo becomes boring and annoying, but let’s recognise they are necessary, otherwise there would be no spin off.
The rest is lovely. Jonnor was a bless yesterday! Funny how short he’s now compared to Jude.
I hope the family gets together more often. I love The Fosters and they make Good Trouble bearable.
How come Jesus and Emma were not even mentioned in this episode? They could have at least mentioned why they were not at the get together.
I totally agree.
How hot is Gavin MacIntosh?
Loved this episode so much. Stef and Lena are everything. It made me miss the Fosters all over again, they ended the show way to early imo.
Good Trouble is an interesting one.. I feel it didn’t need to be a spin off at all, it could have stood on its own two feet. I think they just wanted to keep the two girls on Freeform. By doing that imo they wasted the opportunity the characters that could have made an amazing proper Fosters feel spinoff – Stef, Lena, Jude etc.
Also I definitely do love good Adams-Foster family reunion and a good Adams-Foster filled episode. Seeing the Hunters is good but definitely not as good as seeing the Adams-Fosters crew. I miss seeing the Adams-Fosters every week so my heart is happy again 😂.
Would love a Stef/Lena spinoff. Miss the Mamas.
Note to the Writers and creators of Good Trouble.!!
Enough is enough!!
Your audience wants to see more recurring Foster’s fam on Good Trouble.
We’re ok going with the social politics arc, but we need a break, !.
FYI, I’m a poc…and even I need a break !!
Trying to escape the real news and now here you go, with sad realities as entertainment..
You are losing audience.. I can sense it..I’m on social media all the time and people want , Jude, Conner, Brandon, Cory, the Moms, and even the Hunter family… Well, almost anybody from the San Diego craftsman!
I know the numbers came and showed how incredible the last episode was… WHY would you gamble with success ..
A Callie and Mariana spin off sounded great on paper, but something isn’t working.
Missing is the sisterly chemistry they had on TF.
We thought we were going to see a happier Callie …she can never have a light moment …just boring sex.
I finally saw some chemistry between Jamie and Callie on last week’s stunning episode…and Jude, Conner and Carter were amazing .
Please stop playing games bring back .. Jude and Connor and B… Thx
Would love to see Conner back and pick up where they left off with more maturity and confidence. Would really be great if they
got back together and how their relationship could develop living as an out happy couple.
Jonnor is as dead as a doornail and has been for five years now. What we saw in March was just a revised denouement to make up for what a total “bum’s rush” treatment the storyline received when it was finally cashiered. (Fans of the original show will certainly remember the infamous video-chat and the jaw-droppingly bad hairstyle Connor was sporting in it.)
Sorry to be the one who pees in the punchbowl by dredging up something I’m sure nobody wants dredged up, but there were a lot of rumors online about a certain amount of, let’s just call it unpleasantness surrounding the demise of the Jonnor storyline in 2015/16. Maybe it was just rumors after all, but it was hard to talk about Jonnor back in late 2015 without this unpleasantness becoming the main topic of the discussion. If any of that was true, hopefully this means that some burying of the proverbial hatchet took place between Gavin and Hayden.