THE BALDWINS FINDING STRENGTH IN OUR FAMILY

ALEC AND HILARIA BALDWIN OPEN UP ABOUT THEIR LIFE WITH SEVEN KIDS AND SUPPORTING EACH OTHER THROUGH THE RUST TRAGEDY

- ERIC ANDERSSON and NIGEL SMITH

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin's sunny duplex apartment in New York City has all the hallmarks of parents with young children: framed photos of cherubic faces, stacks of books like Dinosaurs Love Underpants, a harried dad quickly eating some of his kids' leftover pasta at the dining room table. And commotion. Lots of commotion. The Baldwins' apartment-which on a recent frigid January day doubled as the set for a People photo shoot is filled with the sounds of seven children running and playing as their mom gently but firmly tries to corral them for a family photo. "Come, come!" Hilaria calls out as several pairs of tiny feet stomp around from various directions. She tries again: "Everybody into the living room, please!" If Hilaria is stressed, she doesn't show it. As she explains later of her parenting philosophy, "I'm going to go with the flow. Trying to fight seven little people? You're greatly outnumbered."

On the family's new TLC reality series The Baldwins (premiering Feb. 23), lightheartedly chaotic moments like those are interwoven with scenes about Alec's legal drama over the accidental shooting on the set of his movie Rust. The show gives viewers a glimpse of Emmy-winning 30 Rock star Alec, 66, and author, yoga pro and wellness expert Hilaria, 41, as they navigate a then-uncertain future and the joyful but hectic day-to-day with their kids: getting haircuts, tending to their pets (they now have four dogs and four cats) and ferrying between the city and their Long Island home in two SUVs. "This is our lives," says Alec, sitting beside Hilaria in their kitchen a few minutes after the photo shoot wraps.