As anticipation for A Friend of the Family continues to build, Peacock released the official teaser for the harrowing true-crime saga about the Brobergs. The creepy clip gives audiences a closer look at the unbelievable story about a family manipulated by a friendly neighbor, who ended up kidnapping their daughter, Jan, not once but twice.
The series stars Jake Lacy, fresh off his Emmy-nominated performance in The White Lotus, as Robert Berchtold, a charismatic friend who grew close to various members of the Broberg family, including mother Mary Ann (Anna Paquin), father Bob (Colin Hanks) and Jan (Mckenna Grace). Rounding out the cast is Lio Tipton as Robert’s wife, Gail, and Hendrix Yancey, who portrays a younger version of Jan.
“This story will make you talk, shout, cry — and it will make you angry,” says Jan Broberg, who serves as a producer on the series alongside her mother and previously appeared on-camera in the Netflix docuseries, Abducted in Plain Sight, where she recounted her story.
“We were a loving, trusting, educated family. We were not stupid or careless,” she explains. “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.”
Meanwhile, showrunner Nick Antosca, hopes that audiences “will come away from the series with a deeper understanding of the family and say: “In that time, in that place, they were like me. They made terrible mistakes, but they loved their kids. And a master manipulator took advantage of them.”
“The series exists outside the typical categories of genre,” he adds. “It’s a thriller built around obsessive relationships, a family drama, and a nightmarish coming-of-age story.” And based on the teaser, it’s going to be a gripping, nine-part series that audiences can’t turn away from.
A Friend of the Family premieres with three episodes on Oct. 6, with new episodes debuting weekly on Peacock.