The Family is a 13 episode series that spans a 10 year period to when a young simple minded boy named Adam Warren played by Liam James goes missing while supposedly under the watchful eye of his older sister Willa, played by Allison Pill and big brother Danny, played by Zach Gilford. Ten years have passed and then suddenly Adam re-appears coming out of the woods after escaping from his captor.
The second storyline evolves around the wrongly convicted sex offender Hank, played by rat pack star Andrew McCarthy. With the pilot episode now out of the way we the audience could sit back and criticize what some critics believe to be flaws in the storyline. But why the hate so early? I found the pilot to be very well scripted, strongly cast and OH so intriguing. So many character developments in the first 60 minute episode and I have yet to comment on the inter-relationship between the captive Adam Warren's parents dad John, played by Rupert Graves and mom Claire played by 3 time Oscar nominee Joan Allen. (As a side note, I loved Joan Allen's performance in the 2003 film Off The Map). Now spin forward 10 years to the present time and mom Claire is now the mayor of the city they live in and her ambition is headed towards sitting in the Governor's office. Her husband John is a successful author having released a book How to Survive the Loss of a Loved One. The young officer first assigned to the case Nina Meyer, played by Margot Bingham was instrumental in gaining the conviction of their neighbour Hank played by Andrew McCarthy. Officer Meyer was subsequently promoted to detective and young victim Adam's neighbour poor Hank spent the next 10 years in prison wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit.
There are many more unbelievable (but true) stories than the television series The Family that are much more flawed but are in fact true cases that are well documented. Two true criminal acts that come to mind are the Menendez brothers Lyle and Erik who in 1989 killed their own parents and in 1996, were found responsible for their parents brutal murders in of all places, Beverly Hills California. The most infamous trial on TV was the O. J. Simpson trial and his subsequent exoneration for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. If you believe these stories to be true, which based on the court transcripts they are true, then considering the fate of the current television series The Family, just keep an open mind and you will find the series to be as interesting if not more so since we don't know the outcome of the series yet.
In actual life there are far too many unbelievable stories that have been made into movies that we would love to be able to state that just did not happen, when in fact in real life they did occur. Mrs. Shullivan and I have watched intently the pilot for The Family and cannot wait for the unravelling of the next 12 episodes. I give this series a perfect 10 out of 10 score based on a combination of the great actors performances, and an excellent storyline that will keep the audience intrigued with the twists and turns until the story is eventually unfolded. This is a must watch series that is sure to keep an open minded audience as Mrs. Shullivan and I are wanting more of the same. This is an excellent television series that is sure to win a few Emmys.
A perfect 10 score!
