In this documentary series, a mysterious Christian group known as the 'family' lives in the hope of being alone in global governance. That family has tremendous influence in Washington, DC, where it exercises all forms of power and governance everywhere. The family is pursuing its global ambitions, which it has long sought.
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.
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.
That layered storytelling, presented in such an undeniably catchy way, makes The Family yet another strong entry to ABC's primetime arsenal. But whether it can pivot into something even greater remains to be seen.
The Family's chances of anything close to long-term survival seem iffy at best. Unlike Secrets and Lies, its cast of characters and premise are set in concrete. Or perhaps quicksand if recent history proves prophetic.
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.
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.
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.
