In the 70s, American middle-class attitudes to friends and neighbors were a little more relaxed. Communities gathered around their religion and close-knit groups of like-minded people sprung up in every cul-de-sac, creating a safe haven for all. It was an era when phrases like A Friend of the Family meant exactly that – which is why when Peacock’s new true crime drama airs on Oct. 7 this dramatization of the Broberg case may cause some ripples.
Kidnapped twice between 1972 and 1974, Jan Broberg remains the crucial element in this fascinating limited series. Played by both McKenna Grace (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Hendrix Yancey (Stranger Things), showrunner Nick Antosca works hard to keep things idyllic. Bob Broberg (Colin Hanks) and Mary Ann Broberg (Anna Paquin) are almost too perfect, with their gaggle of talented children and picture-perfect picket fence family unit.
Shot through with warm copper tones and era-appropriate opening credits, A Friend of the Family ensures that every aesthetic detail is recreated, which consciously pushes audiences back to that time and place. Helped in no small measure by the presence of Jake Lacy (Significant Other, The White Lotus), who takes on the role of Robert ‘B’ Berthold.
As head of his family, Brother B is the first to welcome them to Idaho alongside wife Gail (Lio Tipton). What starts out as a friendship shaped by common ground and community, soon takes another turn as B begins crossing personal boundaries. Through a combination of considered flashbacks, this Peacock original dramatically demonstrates how the Brobergs and Bertholds become intrinsically linked.
Joint family dinners soon escalate into overnight stays for members of the Broberg family, who have been favored by B and his endlessly ingratiating demeanor. As he gradually infiltrates this family, Bob gets increasingly defensive, while his wife Mary Ann grows equally infatuated. This systematic grooming, aided and abetted by his partner Gail, allows B an unhealthy amount of freedom to indulge his proclivities.
By the time Jan and B go horseback riding two years have passed, meaning Robert ‘B’ Berthold has become so entrenched within this family unit, that Bob and Mary Ann never worry when they go missing. During her disappearance, Nick Antosca is savvy enough to never sensationalize or visually grandstand for audience approval. This kidnapper with a taste for young children is never portrayed as monstrous, but neither is B let off the hook either.
Although this is truly an ensemble effort with stand-out performances from both Hendrix Yancey and an understated Colin Hanks, A Friend of the Family does something else as well. It gives its perpetrator layers of charm and lashings of boyish charisma, whilst handing Lacy a career-making opportunity. It’s a chance he not only grabs with both hands but one he pulls off by walking an extremely thin line between delusional family man and sexual predator.
As this series progresses and Jan is brought home from Mexico following that first abduction, a lot of people will have already switched off or turned over. For everyone else, what becomes clear is that B is an extremely devious individual. Someone who lacks both moral and ethical boundaries yet remains strangely riveting for exactly that reason.
Dramas of this type can only really be assessed technically, as the subject for many might be considered inappropriate. Pedophilia, molestation, and kidnapping of a minor definitely fall into that category – which is why this might not be for everyone. However, what can be said about A Friend of the Family, is that everything about it screams quality.
There is nothing overtly showy about the way Nick Antosca has approached this topic and both Jan and Mary Ann Broberg are listed as executive producers. Not only that, but Jan actually introduces this show, coming across as a compassionate presence on screen, An instinct which is backed up by the appearance of a helpline after episode one, making it clear that awareness is the endgame for all.
That being said, A Friend of the Family remains dramatically rewarding if uncomfortable for obvious reasons. Alongside other real-life curveballs including Joe vs Carol, Peacock is intentionally making brave choices to separate themselves from the herd. The tactic should not only pay off with programming of this caliber, but potentially challenge some larger industry fish.
