Sarah Drew may forever be “April Kepner” to Grey’s Anatomy fans, but in Apple TV’s Amber Brown she’s the mom holding down a messy, funny, deeply real household. The show, adapted from the popular Paula Danziger book series and written by Bonnie Hunt, mixes live action with animation as 11‑year‑old Amber’s drawings spring to life onscreen. It’s part family comedy, part emotional X‑ray.
“I loved the script immediately,” Drew told me. “It was funny, charming, and the animation gives you this peek into the inner workings of an 11‑year‑old’s mind—her imagination, her insecurities, all of it. As a mom myself of a 10‑ and 7‑year‑old, I related so deeply to the struggle of trying to love your kids well, set good boundaries, and then repair when you mess up.”
Amber Brown isn’t afraid to wade into heavier territory. Episodes deal with lying, fractured trust, and the awkward dance of co‑parenting after divorce. “We wanted to present the reality that there are so many different ways to make a family,” Drew said. “There’s a beautiful scene where Amber mourns the shifting shape of her family. I say to her, ‘We still love each other; it’s just changed its shape.’ Half the kids in this country are going through something like that. We wanted them to see themselves.”
Crucially, the show resists easy villains. Max, the mom’s fiancé, isn’t a mustache‑twirling “new boyfriend” cliché. “Living life is complicated,” Drew said. “Figuring out how to love people well is complicated. And it’s important for kids to see their parents finding their own joy too, so they can grow up knowing they deserve that.”
If kindness sounds like a theme, that’s because it is. “Amber’s brave, she speaks her mind, but she cares about being kind,” Drew said. “If my kids grow up to be brave and kind, I’ve done my job. That’s what I want for them.”
Music is a stealth ingredient in the show—Bowie and Kinks T‑shirts, Wilco on the soundtrack. “I think the music choices are so amazing and so spot on,” Drew said. “They’re exactly where kids are right now, but there’s also a nostalgia that connects them to our generation.”
For Drew, who grew up as a self‑described theater geek, seeing her own son fall for musicals like Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen has been a full‑circle moment. “There’s something profound about good art where it transcends the sum of its parts,” she said. “It allows you to think about something you can’t find words to articulate. We’re desperate for that. That’s what makes us human.”
Drew has been quietly curating a résumé of shows that stick—Grey’s Anatomy, Cruel Summer, even voicing Daria’s fashion‑club frenemies back in high school. She returned to Grey’s for its 400th episode and isn’t ruling out more. “I’ve never fully closed the door in my heart,” she said with a grin.
But for now, it’s all about Amber Brown: a show that normalizes messy families, models honest conversations, and finds humor in the hard stuff. “We’re modeling the importance of communication,” Drew said. “Saying the scary things, even if it might hurt someone’s feelings, so we can figure it out together. I’m so excited for families to watch it and see what conversations come out of it.”
Watch the interview above and then check out the trailer below.
