What can someone who has lived for thousands of years possibly learn about love? Apparently, quite a lot.
CBS’s new series Eternally Yours may revolve around characters whose lives stretch far beyond those of ordinary humans, but underneath its supernatural premise is something considerably more familiar: relationships, marriage, parenthood and the ways the people we love can force us to look at ourselves differently.
During a recent panel for the series, I mentioned that the show’s premise brought a little Bewitched to mind — particularly the collision between supernatural characters and the complications that come when humans enter their world.
But after series creator Joe Port emphasized that Eternally Yours is ultimately about relationships, I wanted to know something else.
After thousands and thousands of years together, can these characters still change?
For Ed Weeks, who plays Charles, the arrival of Emma creates an interesting tug-of-war within the family.
“I feel like Emma is in danger of being overly influenced by Charles’ massive cynicism and sort of curmudgeonly view on relationships,” Weeks explained.
While Charles represents one side of that equation, Weeks pointed to Allegra Edwards’ Liz as the counterbalance.
“She provides the optimistic counterpart,” he said. “I feel like it’s almost like a fight for Emma’s soul at the beginning of the pilot.”
For Edwards, however, Emma’s influence may work in both directions.
She pointed to one of the more universal ideas underneath the show’s fantastical premise: children eventually become mirrors for their parents.
“Once we realize that our kids are mirrors to ourselves and our own behaviors, and that they are learning from what we’re doing, it’s more likely to change our own behavior than if a friend or a spouse were to tell us,” Edwards said.
That realization could potentially force Liz to examine a marriage that has already existed for hundreds of years.
“If our kid is looking to us for what to emulate in a relationship, that after hundreds of years might actually elicit some change,” Edwards continued.
For Liz, that could mean making an effort not simply for herself or her husband, but for their daughter.
“If she won’t do it for the sake of her own marriage, maybe Liz will try again to chip away at her husband’s stubbornness or try to put some life into her marriage, as it were, for the sake of her daughter,” Edwards said. “I actually find that to be a very moving concept and so relatable as a parent myself.”
Helen J. Shen expanded the conversation beyond the relationship between Emma and her parents.
Within the household, Emma encounters several different examples of what a relationship can look like, including Phyllis and Jesse.
“There’s a lot of superficial differences on the surface,” Shen explained, “but then actually what’s really more beautiful is the choice to love despite those things.”
Weeks agreed, jokingly describing Phyllis and Jesse as perhaps the most “blooded” relationship in the house.
“They’re kind of the model for all of us in a weird way,” he said.
That was Parker Young’s cue.
“And in real life, too,” Young joked, suggesting that Weeks probably looks to him for guidance.
“Massive moral guidance,” Weeks responded.
From there, the conversation briefly descended into an important discussion about whether Weeks should have worn brown pants.
This may ultimately be one of the more intriguing contradictions at the center of Eternally Yours: Its characters may have accumulated centuries of life experience, but time alone does not necessarily make someone better at being a spouse, parent or partner.
Instead, it may take the arrival of someone new to make these characters reconsider patterns they have followed for generations.
For Emma, that means entering a strange family with wildly different perspectives on love. For everyone already inside that family, Emma may become the mirror that finally makes them look at themselves.
Eternally Yours premieres Thursday, October 8th at 8:30-9:02 PM, ET/PT on the CBS, and streaming on Paramount+.
