Way Leads on to Way

### Writer

Teleplay by : Matt Reeves and Russel Friend & Garrett LernerTelevision story by : Matt Reeves

### Director

Adam Davidson

"Way Leads on to Way" is the first episode of the first season of "Ordinary Joe". It aired on NBC on September 20, 2021. It's directed by Adam Davidson and the teleplay was written by Matt Reeves , Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner. The television story was developed by  Matt Reeves.

## Synopsis

After his college graduation from Syracuse University, Joe Kimbreau faces a life changing decision that sends his life down three drastically different paths: Pursue love, family or career.

## Plot

The story begins with Joe late for his college graduation ceremony. As he waits outside he hits it off with a fellow grad student named Amy. The two talk about their big dreams and the pressure it brings. He wants to be a big music star like Billy Joel and she wants to run for office.

After the ceremony he tells his friend Eric about Amy and he mocks him for not asking her out.

His life story splits into three separate timelines depending on his decision—going with his family leads to him following in his father's footsteps and becoming a police officer, going with Jenny results in the two marrying and raising their disabled son Christopher while Joe becomes a nurse, and going with Amy results in the two marrying and Joe pursuing his musical passion to become a rock star. Ten years pass.

Nurse Joe helps treat Congressman Bobby Diaz, who was shot at a rally. Joe's marriage with Jenny, a paralegal, has suffered from the strain of their careers after both prioritized work to provide for Christopher's needs. Joe's best friend Eric is happily married to Amy. Jenny files for divorce, but Joe intends to change her mind in the forty days he has to respond. They dance together at a reunion for the Syracuse Class of 2011.

Musician Joe's marriage with Amy is strained because they have lost multiple pregnancies to miscarriage. When Diaz is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he endorses Amy, his campaign manager, to replace him on the ballot; Joe is upset because this runs counter to his desire to be a father, and Amy refuses to attend the reunion. At the reunion, Jenny, now a law partner, tells Joe that she was pregnant with his child at graduation; she put the child up for adoption, and Joe vows to find and meet his son.

Officer Joe protects Diaz from the gunman and is celebrated as a hero. Joe reconnects with Amy while investigating the shooter, and they attend the reunion together. He encounters Jenny, who has become an assistant district attorney and is raising her disabled son Lucas—the same child as Christopher.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* James Wolk as Joe Kimbreau
* Natalie Martinez as Amy Kindelán
* Elizabeth Lail as Jenny Banks
* Charlie Barnett as Eric Payne
* David Warshofsky as Frank Kimbreau

### Recurring Cast

* John Gluck as Christopher Kimbeau \ Lucas
* Anne Ramsay as Gwen
* Kai A. Ealy as Officer Marquis
* Adam Rodriguez as Bobby Diaz
* Sarah Charipar as Aunt Meg
* Marquecia Jordan as Fertility Doctor
* Curtis Edward Jackson as Wayne Coleman

## Trivia

* The title is taken from the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. The line is "Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back."
* The college scenes were filmed at Dominican University in Illinois.
* The filming for the pilot initially began in Illinois in March 2020. It shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But show’s production resumed in November of the same year, and the pilot episode was completed on in California.

1. ↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken