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A picture-perfect family with a picture-perfect life meets the neighbors of their nightmares in A Friend of the Family, the upcoming drama series based on the true story of a young girl who was abducted twice by the same man, a family friend who used a web of manipulation, blackmail and out-of-this-world lies to warp her mind and drive her family apart. Steamy secrets, drugging, aliens, and underage marriage - it’s hard to believe that this actually happened, but in a time before the internet, cell phones, and Chris Hansen, the unthinkable was possible, and a charismatic man used his charm to get away with whatever he could in 1972.

Fifty years later Universal Content Productions is telling the mind-bending story that you will have to see to believe. Series creator Nick Antosca, who is known for the true-crime film The Act and the 2021 Netflix original Brand New Cherry Flavor, mixes soft colors and dreamy nostalgia with shocking dark undertones, managing to depict the odd sensation that everything is perfectly fine and very not okay simultaneously. This sick and bewildering story, with its strange balance of tense emotions, will surely have audiences on the edge of their seats as they watch each layer of lies and manipulation unfold. If you’re looking to learn more about this unbelievable true-crime series, we’ve tapped the lines and tracked down all the information you need to know leading up to the premiere of A Friend of the Family.

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Image via Peacock

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Watch The Trailer for A Friend of the Family

A slow and eerie rendition of The Turtles “So Happy Together” plays as the trailer for A Friend of the Family sets the tone for a tense and twisted true-crime series. The ninety-second-long preview released on Peacock’s official YouTube channel gives audiences a glimpse into the surreal, not-quite-right feeling of the dramatic show. Set in the sun-washed 70s and drenched in creepy connotations, viewers can see the young girls riding bullhorn bicycles down quaint streets. Quiet parents share charged glances in deafening silences, and the naive smile of a child who doesn’t know any better glows bright against the troubling gaze of a master manipulator in disguise. The soft colors used in the trailers' cinematography paint a picture of the naivety and innocence of the young main character. Meanwhile, the rising tensions and warped emotions of knowing adults grow in flashes of dark scenes, detailing the duality and peculiar balance of the two families’ high-stakes reality.

When Will A Friend of the Family Be Released?

This twisted drama has had a quick turnaround. Peacock approved the series in February 2022 and photography began in the same month. With the series already in post-production, A Friend of the Family is being completed in record time and is scheduled to premiere on October 6th, 2022.

Where Will You Be Able to Watch A Friend of the Family?

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Image via Peacock

Gather your closest family friends together for a cozy night in. Streaming service Peacock will be home to the gripping drama series, with the first three episodes being made available to view on October 6th. Subsequent episodes will be added on the following Thursdays.

While some content on Peacock is free to stream, you’ll need to upgrade to Peacock Premium to access the new show. Subscriptions to the premium streaming service begin at $4.99 per month.

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Who is the Cast of A Friend of the Family?

Jan Broberg will be portrayed by two actresses; young up-and-coming actress Hendrix Yancey, who is known for her role as 013 in Stranger Things, and McKenna Grace who many know from her roles in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Annabelle Comes Home. The role of her parents, Bob and Mary Ann Broberg, will be taken on by Colin Hanks (Orange County) and Anna Paquin (X-Men) respectively. The White Lotus actor Jake Lacy, who is known for portraying Richard Semco in the 2015 drama Carol, will take on the role of the merciless manipulator Robert B Berchtold. The character's withdrawn and quiet wife, Gail Berchtold, will be portrayed by model/actress Lio Tipton, who you may recognize as Jessica from the 2011 film Crazy, Stupid, Love. Additionally, Joe Chrest, who is known for his role as Ted Wheeler in the Netflix series Stranger Things, will take on the role of the local church's Bishop, Matthew Paulsen.

What is A Friend of the Family About?

jake lacy a friend of the family
Image via Peacock

A twisted story of drugging, blackmail, and steamy secrets among the parents of two deeply religious families becomes even more shocking when the concept of aliens gets brought into the mix. In A Friend of the Family, the true-crime story of the Broberg and Berchtold families' strange relationship, audiences will learn about how one charismatic, magnetic, charming man got a little too comfortable with his new family friends and managed to convince their daughter that alarming falsehoods were true.

In the early 70s, the Broberg family was like any other, with dad Bob going off to work at his flower shop while mom Mary Ann stayed home to cook, clean, and look after their three daughters, Susan, Karen, and Jan. One day at church they made the acquaintance of an unfamiliar family, the Berchtold’s, who were new to town. The families, with eight children between them, became quick friends, carpooling, having family dinners, and even vacationing together over the course of the coming years. After some time a secret romantic affair blossomed between Mary Ann Broberg and the Berchtold’s patriarch, Robert. Soon after, Robert and Bob secretly became a bit more than close buddies in the front seat of the old family Chevy. The secrets went from scandalous to incredulous when twelve-year-old Jan, believed to be on a horseback riding excursion alone with Robert for the afternoon, went missing for 35 days. Over the course of the first week, Jan dozed in and out of a drugged stupor in the back of the Berchtold’s RV. From what she remembers, she was told by alien voices coming from a box that she herself was half alien and must save her home planet from destruction by giving birth to Robert’s child before the age of sixteen. While the FBI and the Broberg family searched for their young daughter, Robert and 12-year-old Jan made their way to Mexico to get married, living in a hotel as they carried out their divine, intergalactic mission.

After 35 days a call to their hotel room is traced by the FBI. Jan is then rescued and Robert is arrested, but this would not be the end of their mission or the Broberg family’s troubles. A withdrawn Jan refuses to tell her family or the FBI what she was told by the “aliens” and insists that she is in love with Robert, who somehow manages to continue to play the alien voices of Zethra and Zeda to Jan through a cassette player in her bedroom. Prior to standing trial, Robert’s family insists that the Broberg’s drop the charges against him, blackmailing them with the details of the separate illicit relationships, threatening to tell their close-knit religious community and the church of their adultery. With the charges now dropped, Jan disappears again, and the FBI and Broberg family know exactly where to look, but this time Robert appears to be compliant, and completely alone. Prepare to be floored by the extreme lengths that people will go to in order to feed their desires and protect their images in A Friend of the Family.