‘Trying’: Esther Smith & Rafe Spall Tease Parenting ‘Ups & Downs’ in Season 3

Apple TV+‘s charming dramedy Trying is gearing up for its third season on the streamer. And it’s shaping up to be a special one as Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) enter the next phase of their life as parents to Princess (Eden Togwell) and Tyler (Mickey McAnulty).

After trying to conceive a child of their own, the couple opted for the adoption process and as viewers will recall last season they found themselves housing Princess and her stowaway brother Tyler, uncertain of whether they’d get to hold onto this little family they’re hoping to create. When it comes to Season 3, Smith teases it’s “a fight to try and keep these two kids together, but also for Nikki and Jason to be approved, to have both of them.”

That’s the catch, Nikki and Jason were allowed to take Princess home, but they weren’t given permission to house Tyler. “That comes with a lot of ups and downs,” notes Smith. “They want these two kids to stay together.” As their journey unfolds this season, Nikki and Jason are also “showing their skills as parents,” Smith says.

(Credit: Apple TV+)

This expectation of what it is to be a parent also “tests their whole setup and their relationship with each other,” Smith adds of Nikki and Jason’s Dynamic. “It’s a real obstacle course for them to try and navigate.” One big challenge of tackling parenting with Princess and Tyler is that they’re not babies.

“They’re adopting kids of a certain age, so they’ve got fully formed personalities,” Spall notes. “They’ve been through a lot of trauma, these kids,” he adds. “They need a safe space. They need a loving, warm, welcoming home, but Jason and Nikki want the kids to love them. They want the kids to think that they’re good parents and they want them to be happy.”

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Along with wishing for kids, Nikki and Jason made a big step in their relationship last season when he proposed marriage and she accepted. So, should fans anticipate a wedding in the future? “There is so much going on in their life, it inevitably takes a backseat,” reveals Smith, “but it’s still very much on the cards.”

While fans will have to wait and see whether Nikki and Jason tie the knot, Spall teases, “What the best shows do, is they satisfy the audience, but also confound their expectation. There are certain payoffs.” What those payoffs will be, remains to be seen, but the actor adds, “I think that this season is probably our most satisfying season. It’s that you get what you want, but maybe not in the way that you thought you were going to get it.”

Trying, Season 3 Premiere, Friday, July 22, Apple TV+