Peacock’s released a batch of photos from the upcoming true crime limited series A Friend of the Family starring Anna Paquin, Colin Hanks, and Jake Lacy. The nine-episode drama debuts on October 6, 2022 and tells the true story of Jan Broberg, a young woman who was kidnapped multiple times by the same family friend.
Mckenna Grace, Lio Tipton, and Hendrix Yancey also star in the limited series.
Nick Antosca is the writer, executive producer, and showrunner, with Alex Hedlund also executive producing. The real Jan Broberg and Mary Ann Broberg are involved as producers, and executive producer Eliza Hittman directs multiple episodes.
Peacock’s release of the new photos was accompanied by character descriptions as well as statements by showrunner Nick Antosca and and Jan Broberg. Peacock also released the following synopsis of the limited series:
“A Friend of the Family is based on the harrowing true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by a charismatic, obsessed family ‘friend.’ The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family, and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them. This is the story of how their lives were permanently altered — and how they survived.”
Nick Antosca was able to hear firsthand accounts about the events from Jan Broberg, and Antosca states he wouldn’t have attempted to tell this story without Jan and her family’s blessing.
“It’s easy to judge the Broberg family’s story from the outside. Sometimes when people first hear it, they get defensive: How could these parents have let this happen? I’m not like them,” stated Antosca. “It is understandable. It’s a surreal story. When I first heard it, I empathized with the family’s vulnerability, and I felt like I understood their story from the outside. But it stayed with me, and I wanted to understand from the inside — to know what their lives felt like, to live in each family member’s experience, to see how they were caught in such a bizarre web, and to help audiences empathize with them too.”
Antosca hopes viewers will have a better understanding of the family by watching the series. “In the course of working on this story and talking with others who have worked on it, one thing has become clear: It’s more relatable than it first seems. The Brobergs’ story is an extreme point on a continuum that more of us are on than we realize,” said Antosca.
Jan Broberg describes her family as loving, trusting, and educated, and she hopes that this series will spark conversations.
“We were not stupid or careless. So how could this happen in our neighborhood, where we knew everyone, and everyone was a friend? The truth is that most predators are not strangers but people we know — people who can build trust, create special friendships, and separate family members psychologically,” explained Broberg.
She continued: “As little girls, we talked and we listened around the dinner table every night. Mom and Dad were always there. We were so safe, so loved, so carefree. Then, in 1972, we met the nicest new family at church, with children who matched us in age. A deep friendship ensued. Over several years, our families did hundreds of activities together: church parties, family dinners, boating and snowmobile trips, sleepovers, game nights, movies and barbecues. Then on a normal afternoon, the father kidnapped me — and from age 12 to 16 I was sexually assaulted and severely brainwashed by this man who I trusted.
This story will make you talk, shout, cry — and it will make you angry. Good. The team of writers, actors, designers, directors and producers led by Alex Hedlund, Eliza Hittman, and Nick Antosca have captured the heart of how good people can be manipulated and their children victimized. Our story is relatable because so many families have direct experience with this sort of abuse.”
A Friend of the Family Cast and Characters:
ANNA PAQUIN plays the role of Mary Ann Broberg. Mary Ann is the mother of three daughters, and her life has felt safe, happy and rewarding until recently. She has realized too late that she may have missed warning signs and made a terrible mistake by becoming close to her charismatic neighbor Robert Berchtold — and trusting him around her oldest daughter, Jan.
JAKE LACY plays the role of Robert “B” Berchtold, a charming local businessman who appears to be a genial Mormon father and husband. An expert in manipulation, he puts everyone around him at ease as he carefully plots the abduction of Mary Ann’s daughter.
COLIN HANKS plays the role of Bob Broberg, Mary Ann’s husband and Jan’s father, Bob is big-hearted, kind, and everyone’s best friend, the very model of a suburban patriarch. As his family gets closer to neighbor Robert Berchtold, Bob begins to fear that something is amiss.
LIO TIPTON plays the role of Gail Berchtold. Gail is Robert Berchtold’s wife and the mother of a large family. Her husband suffers from mood swings and this has led him to act erratically. Gail’s concerns about her husband may keep her on edge, but she never could have expected what her husband would eventually do.
MCKENNA GRACE plays the role of Jan Broberg in the later years. Jan is the oldest daughter of Bob and Mary Ann Broberg and leads a happy, traditional life in an idyllic American city. Jan trusts family friend and neighbor Robert Berchtold, though he has plans for her abduction that she doesn’t suspect.
HENDRIX YANCEY plays the role of Jan Broberg in the early years. Jan is the oldest daughter of Bob and Mary Ann Broberg and leads a happy, traditional life in an idyllic American city. Jan trusts family friend and neighbor Robert Berchtold, though he has plans for her abduction that she doesn’t suspect.
