The series follows on the return of the mayor's young son, who was presumed dead after disappearing over a decade earlier, which makes a community rattled. So what really happened and how about the not-so-innocent neighbor who confessed to and has been imprisoned for his murder.
For The Family to become the deep and nuanced character drama it clearly wants to be, everyone needs to take a breath, perhaps join a support group, and slow the heck down.
With a story like The Family, everyone needs to be paying attention to the fine details. But at least we get to enjoy (Joan) Allen in our homes every week, for a time, anyway.
I can't say I was very intrigued by these provocative questions, mostly because The Family does such a poor job of dramatizing them in a lively, believable manner.
There's a strong cast in place, led by Joan Allen, but the writing never scratches the surface in order to get the characters where they need to be in order to develop interest or continuity.
The Family is one of those shows that's so fast-paced that you don't even care how overheated and kind of ridiculous the whole thing is. It's escapist TV in the vein of How to Get Away with Murder.
