After a 6-Year Jump, Trying Is Unrecognizable — and Better
trying — A couple who spent earlier seasons fighting to adopt finally did so, but a six-year leap in Season 4 has transformed the sitcom’s stakes and tone, moving the story from an adoption quest to a messy, lived-in family drama; Season 5 is expected later this year. Nikki and Jason’s adoption of siblings Princess and Tyler is the pivot that lets the writers follow older children and the parents’ unraveling and reinvention. The shift reframes the series and opens new arcs at home and at work.
How Trying changed with the time jump
The most immediate change is structural: the narrative moves six years forward after Season 3, a decision that reframes the title and the emotional core. Nikki and Jason finalized their adoption in Season 3, and Season 4 resumes with Princess now a teenager and Tyler entering preteen years. Princess’s new age gives her a different emotional register—she’s now able to ask questions about her birth mother, Kat, and pursue answers in ways she could not at age 10. That quest provides a new, urgent throughline while preserving the preexisting bond between Nikki and Princess so it doesn’t collapse under the weight of discovery.
Key plot beats and new threads
The arrival of Kat on the family’s doorstep in Season 4 raises the personal stakes: her presence creates friction that tests familial bonds and drives the upcoming Season 5 drama. The time jump also enables deeper exploration of Nikki and Jason as individuals outside parenthood. Jason begins a new career as a social worker, a change that brings new professional complications and new characters into his orbit. Nikki’s workplace arc moves to the Vista Car Rental she manages and introduces a new coworker who promises workplace tensions and narrative friction.
Cast shifts and reinforcements
The show’s casting reflects the time jump: the children are portrayed by older actors to match the timeline, and several new performers join to complicate adult lives. Princess’s search for origins centers on Kat, the birth mother whose arrival rewrites relationships. Additional cast additions are set to bolster adult storylines: actors will join Jason’s trajectory as he adapts to social work, and a new colleague will enter Nikki’s workplace. These hires are presented as narrative tools made possible by the six-year advance.
What critics and viewers will watch for next
With the tonal reset established, the series now leans into layered domestic drama rather than the original adoption plot mechanics. Expect Season 5 to trace the fallout from Kat turning up and to widen the frame to include Nikki and Jason’s careers and new coworkers. The older ages of Princess and Tyler will allow the show to dramatize more complex emotional responses and to test parental bonds in scenes that require more mature performances.
Ultimately, the time jump was a high-risk creative choice that repositions the show’s center of gravity and keeps the narrative alive. As the writers push into adolescence, workplace change, and the consequences of a surprise reunion, the series proves the title now stands for the family’s ongoing, imperfect effort — simply trying to hold together while everything changes.
