Growing Up Fisher

11-year old Henry (Eli Baker) met the most amazing person he'll ever meet in his life when he was four-and-a-half minutes old, his dad, Mel Fisher (J.K. Simmons). Mel's an incredible father and successful lawyer...who happens to be blind. Ever since he can remember, Henry has always been his dad's eyes and wingman, so when his parents decide to separate, he's less than thrilled that his job has been outsourced to Mel's new guide dog, Elvis. Meanwhile, his mother, Joyce (Jenna Elfman), begins a quest to find herself, essentially becoming a teenager in her forties. This is an unfortunate turn for the family's actual teenage daughter, Katie (Ave Deluca-Verley), who finds herself reluctantly taking on the maternal role in the family.

After years of cleverly hiding his blindness, with Elvis now at his side, Mel (J.K. Simmons) must reveal he is blind to his biggest client without losing his business. At the same time, when Henry (Eli Baker) borrows Mel's guide dog, he is mistaken for being blind, but then decides to keep up the misconception after winning the attention of a pretty girl (guest star Haley Pullos). Meanwhile, when Joyce's (Jenna Elfman) 25-year-old grad school study partner (guest star Ginger Gonzaga) validates Joyce as cool, Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley) starts to see her mother in a new light.

Father and son, Mel (J.K. Simmons) and Henry (Eli Baker), push each other to ask out women in their building, only to discover the women they're pursuing are mother and daughter (guest stars Constance Zimmer and Isabela Moner). Meanwhile, Joyce (Jenna Elfman), lost at sea on her first date since the separation, panics and crashes Katie's (Ava Deluca-Verley) date at a carnival, resulting in an impromptu mother-daughter double date.

Mel (J.K. Simmons) discovers he has trust issues when he and Joyce (Jenna Elfman) disagree over how to discipline Katey (Ava Deluca-Verley). When Katie goes missing, Mel and Joyce have to team up to find her. Henry (Eli Baker), needing a break from his family's drama, forces Runyen (Lance Lim) to allow him to sleep over for the first time in their friendship.

In her ongoing quest to assert her independence, Joyce (Jenna Elfman) is determined to get a job. Mel (J.K. Simmons) encourages and supports her until she actually gets one - at Mel's law firm. But, surprisingly, Mel and Joyce work together well. It's Joyce and Mel's secretary Janice (guest star Carla Jimenez) who can't play nice, and their feud sets fires that Mel scrambles to put out. Meanwhile, tired of seeing Henry (Eli Baker) strike out with over-the-top romantic gestures, Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley) coaches him on how to land Jenny (guest star Isabela Moner): play it cool.

Mel (J.K. Simmons) flips out when he finds marijuana in his daughter Katie's (Ava Deluca-Verley) bag - only to discover his ex-wife Joyce (Jenna Elfman) put it there. Apparently, Joyce is trying things she never could when married to Mel. Meanwhile, as his twelfth birthday approaches, Henry (Eli Baker) is convinced he's going blind since that's the age his dad was when he lost his sight. It's irrational, but just in case, Henry and his best friend Runyen (Lance Lim), embark on a quest to see the one thing a boy must see before he goes blind.

Mel's (J.K. Simmons) little girl is growing up. Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley) is getting her driver's license and there's nothing he can do about it. What he can do, however, is make excuses to ride in the car with her everywhere she goes. In the course of shuttling him from around, Katie is embarrassed by her dad, who has a habit of creating huge scenes whenever they encounter even the smallest injustice. When Katie confronts him about it, Mel explains how an incident when he was young shaped his need to stand up for what is right. Meanwhile, Joyce (Jenna Elfman), who is struggling to fit in with her classmates, uses Henry (Eli Baker) as a real-life visual aid to get in with a study group. Henry is happy to be his mom's life preserver at first, but Joyce eventually drowns them both.

When Sloan (guest star Matt Glave) cancels on Mel (J.K. Simmons), Mel struggles to find a new plus-one for an important charity event, and he's determined to show his peers that his post-divorce life is going smoothly. Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley) becomes invested in helping her dad find a plus-one, as her secret party at her dad's apartment is in jeopardy if Mel doesn't attend the event. Meanwhile, Runyen's (Lance Lim) mom (guest star Lela Lee) thinks Henry (Eli Baker) is a bad influence on her son, so Joyce (Jenna Elfman) confronts her in order to defend the Fisher family honor.

When Mel (J.K. Simmons) thinks Henry (Eli Baker) is becoming a slacker, he takes him into work to show him what success looks like. Seeing his dad in action, Henry learns an unexpected lesson that helps him step out of his father's shadow. Meanwhile, Joyce (Jenna Elfman) and Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley) decide that in Mel's absence, they need to stand up for themselves, which makes for a couple of bold, and embarrassing, confrontations in the returns department of a furniture store.

Joyce (Jenna Elfman) finds out Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley) has big plans for after the Spring Formal with her boyfriend, Anthony (guest star Logan Miller). In order to confirm what she thinks, however, Joyce has to promise Katie she'll keep her secret from Mel (J.K. Simmons). Meanwhile, Mel has one final chance to have a successful first date with Allison (guest star Contance Zimmer) and has promised to make her dinner. The only problem is that he has no clue how to cook. With both parents distracted, Runyen (Lance Lim) points out that Henry (Eli Baker) can get away with anything and should milk it for all it's worth.

Stress gets the better of Mel (J.K. Simmons), causing him back problems. Not wanting the family to worry about him, Mel discovers that sneaking into Joyce's (Jenna Elfman) when no one's home to take bubble baths is just the remedy to unwind and cure his aches. Meanwhile, when Joyce gets straight A's in her grad school classes, she sees her future as a therapist set in stone and panics. However, she can't work up the nerve to tell her family she wants to pursue a different career path. Also, despite being told she can't get a part-time job, Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley) secretly starts working at the yogurt shop managed by her boyfriend, only to learn that work and love don't swirl. And Henry (Eli Baker), with Runyen (Lance Lim) as his trainer, secretly prepares to fight a bully. Voice-over by Jason Bateman. Logan Miller, Peter Mackenzie, Karan Soni, Joel Polis, Cade Canon Ball, Karl T. Wright and Christina Pickles guest star.

When Joyce's (Jenna Elfman) free-spirited sister, Madi (guest star Erinn Hayes) comes to visit, Mel (J.K. Simmons) couldn't be happier since his separation from Joyce means Madi is no longer his problem. But that doesn't stop Madi from getting in Mel's head. She suggests that the woman he's dating, Allison (guest star Constance Zimmer), is burdened with having to take care of her blind boyfriend, so Mel sets out to prove her wrong. Meanwhile, it's Runyen (Lance Lim) who gets in Henry's (Eli Baker) head, convincing him that he and Jenny (guest star Isabela Moner) are spending so much time together, they've fallen into the dreaded friend zone.

When the divorce papers arrive in the mail, Mel (J.K. Simmons) is determined to preserve for Henry (Eli Baker) and Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley) a sense of normalcy, and keeps their annual family trip on the books. When Joyce's (Jenna Elfman) online date walks out on her, Mel grudgingly invites her along. To their surprise, while on what has previously been a vacation from hell, Mel and Joyce discover that their separation has allowed them to finally appreciate one another - just as they're ready to sign the divorce papers. Meanwhile, Henry's crush, Jenny (guest star Isabela Moner), tags along on the vacation, which forces Henry to overcome his fear of horses so he can make the most of this getaway with the girl of his dreams.

Take a sneak peek into NBC's new comedy series, Growing Up Fisher.