‘Parenthood’ Season 6 Spoilers: Joel And Julia's New Relationship Dynamics Teased; Will A Braverman Death Push Them Closer To Divorce?

“Parenthood” Season 6 isn’t going to make Joel and Julia’s relationship any easier. The couple will spend at least a portion of the final 13 episodes separated, but the tables have turned. It appear that Julia is the one moving on now, TV Line reported.

“I didn’t want to come back [this] season and have it feel like, ‘Oh, everything is fine, and they’re back to the way it was,’” showrunner Jason Katims told TV Line. “I feel like that would be cheating the audience out of watching what would really happen. We’re continuing to tell that story, and we pick up with them being separated.”

Katims decided to flip the dynamic after Joel being the distant one for most of Season 5. Now that Julia has accepted their separation and is trying to get over her broken marriage, Joel realize that he wants her back. It will be a story line “where it's Joel who's trying to get back into Julia's good graces. It's about refining Julia, who decides to move on with her life,” Katims said.

As previously reported, Julia will consider moving on with Chris, an ex-boyfriend from college played by Coby Ryan McLaughlin. This will be a big change from last season where she spent a lot of time trying to convince Joel to come home.

Katims and the “Parenthood” writers aren’t saying if the separated couple will officially divorce or if they will reunite. Either way, their relationship could easily be affected by the death of a family member. Parenthood fans have been speculating that a Braverman might die after Katims claimed he would explore the “cycle of life” in the final season. It seems like Katims finally confirmed a Braverman death. “We've never told a story about losing someone in the family, and that is a very difficult story for us to tell,” Katims said. “But it's one that I feel is a reality.”

“Parenthood” Season 6 premieres Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. EDT on NBC. Do you think a death in the family would strengthen Julia and Joel’s relationship or push them closer to divorce? Sound off in the comments section below!