Casting Soon after the cancelation of The Four Seasons, Joanna Kerns auditioned for a new series in late 1984, called Growing Pains, which was being developed by screenwriter Neal Marlens, alongside executive producer Mike Sullivan. She auditioned with Alan Thicke, who was coming off the failure of his syndicated late-night talk show Thicke of the Night. Kerns joked in many interviews that she and Alan had immediate chemistry, especially when she kissed him on his nose by accident during their audition together. Kerns and Thicke's chemistry won them both the parts of lead characters Maggie and Jason Seaver, and the two became great friends off the show; both of them had many things in common, including being newly divorced single parents. Tracey Gold auditioned for the role of Carol Seaver, but was passed over in favor of Elizabeth Ward, who had starred alongside Gold in the 1983 ABC Afterschool Special The Hand-Me-Down Kid. However, test audiences did not find Ward to be suited for the role of Carol, and Gold promptly replaced her; scenes featuring Ward in the original pilot were subsequently reshot with Gold for the broadcast version.
Casting Soon after the cancelation of The Four Seasons, Joanna Kerns auditioned for a new series in late 1984, called Growing Pains, which was being developed by screenwriter Neal Marlens, alongside executive producer Mike Sullivan. She auditioned with Alan Thicke, who was coming off the failure of his syndicated late-night talk show Thicke of the Night. Kerns joked in many interviews that she and Alan had immediate chemistry, especially when she kissed him on his nose by accident during their audition together. Kerns and Thicke's chemistry won them both the parts of lead characters Maggie and Jason Seaver, and the two became great friends off the show; both of them had many things in common, including being newly divorced single parents. Tracey Gold auditioned for the role of Carol Seaver but was passed over in favor of Elizabeth Ward, who had starred alongside Gold in the 1983 ABC Afterschool Special The Hand-Me-Down Kid. However, test audiences did not find Ward to be suited for the role of Carol, and Gold promptly replaced her; scenes featuring Ward in the original pilot were subsequently reshot with Gold for the broadcast version.